MPs’ business costs

Fabian Hamilton

IPSA paid £2,797,286 against 1,630 published rows for Fabian Hamilton between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Leeds North East BC. These are the costs of running an office and employing staff under IPSA’s rules. They are not salary, and the largest part of them is wages IPSA pays to the member’s employees rather than money the member receives.

By category, 2015-16

115 claims, £194,996 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe salaries and employment costs of the people an MP employs to run their office and casework. IPSA pays these directly; they are not money an MP receives.1£161,65682.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.107£23,47812.0%
TravelJourneys between the constituency and Westminster and within the constituency. Until 2018-19 IPSA published one travel category; from 2019-20 it publishes travel by the MP, by staff and by a dependant separately.1£3,8792.0%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.6£5,9833.1%

Every year in the register

Fabian Hamilton’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2025-26. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, so a rise between two distant years is partly a rise in prices. Select a year to read it on its own.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1198£92,781£19,082£4,435£116,298
2011-12131£120,729£28,121£6,694£155,544
2012-13106£129,873£22,200£116£6,750£158,939
2013-14112£133,373£23,785£5,637£50£162,845
2014-1594£137,497£21,567£6,700£165,764
2015-16115£161,656£23,478£3,879£5,983£194,996
2016-1799£127,283£22,000£6,022£155,305
2017-18104£149,765£23,523£4,395£177,683
2018-1988£136,889£22,876£5,603£165,369
2019-20116£143,338£24,519£6,759£174,616
2020-21112£180,943£26,204£3,717£730£211,594
2021-2282£173,894£19,164£981£5,003£45£199,087
2022-23106£189,336£21,857£1,287£6,742£219,223
2023-24107£215,590£25,937£2,451£7,495£251,473
2024-2595£238,906£23,897£10,363£5,220£549£278,935
2025-2665£9,502£114£9,617

A year in which Fabian Hamilton joined or left the House part-way through is a part year, and is not comparable with a full one.

What each category is made of, 2015-16

The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£161,656

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent10£8,275
Const Office repairs8£2,570
Computer HW Purchase7£2,160
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental19£1,471
Internet Usage/Rental2£1,381
Const Office Gas5£1,067

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£3,879

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Contingency3£4,576
Removal Costs - Contingency3£1,407

Largest claims, 2015-16

The 15 rows IPSA paid most against, with IPSA’s own description of each. Read the description before the amount: IPSA publishes most of a member’s staffing as one row for the whole year — “Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the ⟨year⟩ year” — so the largest row here is usually a year of wages for the member’s employees and not something bought.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£161,656£161,656
31 March 2016TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2015-16£3,879£3,879
31 August 2015Miscellaneous ExpensesContingencyTI Security Ltd£1,828£1,828
31 August 2015Miscellaneous ExpensesContingencyTI Security Ltd£1,791£1,791
16 June 2015Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,694£1,694
1 April 2015Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,381£1,381
28 August 2015Office CostsConst Office repairsSharp Floors£1,000£1,000
2 March 2016Office CostsWebsite - HostingSerif£960£960
19 July 2015Miscellaneous ExpensesContingencyTI Security Ltd£957£957
1 September 2015Office CostsBusiness RatesLeeds City Council£903£903
28 August 2015Miscellaneous ExpensesRemoval Costs - ContingencyCBT Limited£870£870
21 March 2016Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseAmazon£850£850
15 December 2015Office CostsInternet Usage/RentalSerif£697£697
9 September 2015Office CostsInternet Usage/RentalSerif£684£684
19 May 2015Office CostsConst Office GasE.on£658£658

What this page does not show

Whether any of it was justified. IPSA accepted these claims under its own rules and the register records what was paid, not whether it should have been. A large total is not a finding about the member.

Nor how Fabian Hamilton compares with another member. After staffing the largest headings are accommodation and travel, and both are decided mostly by where a constituency is: a member several hundred miles from Westminster is eligible for costs a member with a London seat is not. Two members’ totals are two sets of rules as much as two sets of choices, and the length of service differs too.

It is also not pay. IPSA sets and publishes MPs’ salaries separately and they are not in this register; the staffing figure here is the salaries of the member’s employees.

All MPs’ business costs · Fabian Hamilton’s register of interests and votes · Sources