MPs’ business costs

Mr James Frith

IPSA paid £830,774 against 749 published rows for Mr James Frith between 2017-18 and 2025-26 as the member for Bury North 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, 2018-19

231 claims, £226,798 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The 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.	50	£153,308	67.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	152	£24,576	10.8%
Accommodation	The cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.	18	£32,769	14.4%
Travel	Journeys 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	£15,191	6.7%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	10	£953	0.4%

Every year in the register

Mr James Frith’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2017-18 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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2017-18	112	£95,244	£24,488	£26,824	£12,548	—	—	£159,103
2018-19	231	£153,308	£24,576	£32,769	£15,191	—	£953	£226,798
2019-20	234	£104,616	£23,976	£24,290	£7,162	£38,066	£13,648	£211,758
2024-25	125	£143,427	£30,304	£20,762	£16,305	—	—	£210,798
2025-26	47	£1,475	£15,302	£5,539	—	—	—	£22,316

A year in which Mr James Frith 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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£149,979
Staff Training Costs	2	£2,025
Professional Services (Staff.)	2	£800
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	20	£334
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG	2	£66
Food & Drink Volunteer	14	£58

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£7,859
Professional Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Stationery Purchase	39	£3,463
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	11	£1,369
Other Equip Purchase	6	£1,009
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	13	£949

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£28,807
Council Tax	1	£2,310
Electricity	5	£1,652

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£15,191

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	10	£953

Largest claims, 2018-19

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£149,979	£149,979
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£15,191	£15,191
1 April 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
20 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
17 January 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
16 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
16 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
16 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
13 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
18 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
18 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
19 June 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
17 May 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
17 April 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
4 April 2018	Accommodation	Council Tax	GCS Reconcilliation	£2,310	£2,310

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 Mr James Frith 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 · Mr James Frith’s register of interests and votes · Sources