MPs’ business costs

Jeff Smith

IPSA paid £2,117,794 against 1,546 published rows for Jeff Smith between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Manchester, Withington BC, then Manchester Withington 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, 2017-18

200 claims, £166,227 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.	87	£128,347	77.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	98	£20,501	12.3%
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.	14	£11,000	6.6%
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	£6,378	3.8%

Every year in the register

Jeff Smith’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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
2015-16	67	£84,156	£13,670	£9,432	£4,434	£5,912	—	£117,605
2016-17	127	£129,055	£22,639	£11,450	£7,926	—	—	£171,070
2017-18	200	£128,347	£20,501	£11,000	£6,378	—	—	£166,227
2018-19	143	£144,127	£19,769	£11,900	£8,150	—	—	£183,946
2019-20	223	£154,660	£29,135	£12,000	£7,800	—	—	£203,595
2020-21	116	£186,639	£24,617	£11,000	£3,736	—	—	£225,993
2021-22	96	£178,839	£24,291	£12,000	£4,836	—	—	£219,966
2022-23	193	£205,966	£26,898	£13,650	£7,369	—	—	£253,883
2023-24	186	£230,889	£28,567	£15,450	£7,171	—	£912	£282,989
2024-25	145	£237,940	£22,302	£15,600	£7,655	—	—	£283,498
2025-26	50	—	£9,023	—	—	—	—	£9,023

A year in which Jeff Smith 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£123,206
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Volunteer Agreed Arrang. Costs	48	£238
Public Tr UND Volunteer	26	£64
Food & Drink Volunteer	10	£37
Public Tr BUS Volunteer	1	£2

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£7,379
Stationery Purchase	21	£3,280
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	8	£2,280
IT/Other Equipment Hire	6	£1,318
Other Equip Purchase	6	£1,120
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	12	£1,064

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	14	£11,000

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,378

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£123,206	£123,206
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£6,378	£6,378
28 April 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
24 August 2017	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	PC and Social Media Equip	£946	£946
23 February 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
26 January 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
21 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
24 November 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
29 October 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
29 September 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
29 August 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
27 July 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
27 June 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
25 May 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900
25 April 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£900	£900

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 Jeff Smith 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 · Jeff Smith’s register of interests and votes · Sources