MPs’ business costs

Jamie Stone

IPSA paid £1,975,266 against 1,735 published rows for Jamie Stone between 2017-18 and 2025-26 as the member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross CC. 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, 2023-24

308 claims, £353,441 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.4£235,87166.7%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.232£29,2828.3%
AccommodationThe 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.17£24,7077.0%
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.32£45,01412.7%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.23£18,5675.3%

Every year in the register

Jamie Stone’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2017-18123£77,774£23,924£10,377£13,260£125,335
2018-19177£132,520£19,308£21,116£28,299£201,243
2019-20191£125,217£22,210£20,885£30,422£198,734
2020-21130£138,992£22,709£21,086£15,849£198,636
2021-22230£184,705£22,827£24,135£36,230£267,896
2022-23259£176,307£27,977£23,560£41,204£269,048
2023-24308£235,871£29,282£24,707£45,014£18,567£353,441
2024-25239£250,820£28,099£26,645£40,418£345,982
2025-2678£12,673£2,276£14,949

A year in which Jamie Stone 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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£232,479
Pooled staffing services1£3,075
Working From Home Allowance1£312
Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs1£5

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Utilities17£8,462
Rent12£6,775
Pooled staffing services1£3,075
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage10£2,533
Stationery & printing28£2,316
Advertising and contact cards21£1,680

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent12£22,996
Council tax1£1,115
Utilities4£596

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Air travel5£23,347
Rail7£7,913
Mileage - car4£7,835
Hotel - London1£1,980
Hotel - UK Not London2£1,261
Parking1£1,180

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£11,861
Rent8£3,600
Equipment - purchase2£1,282
Utilities1£993
Insurance - buildings1£241
Stationery & printing1£222

Largest claims, 2023-24

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 2024StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£232,479£232,479
31 March 2024MP TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£17,436£17,436
31 March 2024MiscellaneousPayrollTotal other staff payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£11,861£11,861
31 March 2024Staff TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£5,066£5,066
31 March 2024Staff TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£3,438£3,438
31 March 2024MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£3,257£3,257
31 March 2024Staff TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£3,180£3,180
10 July 2023Office CostsPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Support Team (Liberal Democrat)£3,075£3,075
10 July 2023StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Support Team (Liberal Democrat)£3,075£3,075
31 March 2024MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£2,120£2,120
31 March 2024Staff TravelHotel - LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2023-24£1,980£1,980
21 March 2024AccommodationRent£1,933£1,933
20 February 2024AccommodationRent£1,933£1,933
23 January 2024AccommodationRent£1,933£1,933
21 December 2023AccommodationRent£1,933£1,933

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 Jamie Stone 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 · Jamie Stone’s register of interests and votes · Sources