MPs’ business costs

Sir Julian Lewis

IPSA paid £2,241,030 against 1,054 published rows for Sir Julian Lewis between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for New Forest East 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, 2016-17

74 claims, £127,713 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.	2	£105,526	82.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	54	£10,975	8.6%
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.	17	£8,562	6.7%
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	£2,649	2.1%

Every year in the register

Sir Julian Lewis’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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	79	£84,837	£10,811	£7,401	£3,348	—	£106,397
2011-12	84	£101,187	£11,836	£6,926	£3,893	—	£123,842
2012-13	79	£102,016	£13,182	£5,950	£3,287	—	£124,434
2013-14	80	£102,943	£12,087	£7,193	£3,372	—	£125,595
2014-15	79	£102,477	£11,850	£6,595	£3,708	£4	£124,634
2015-16	74	£104,568	£12,117	£3,698	£2,505	—	£122,888
2016-17	74	£105,526	£10,975	£8,562	£2,649	—	£127,713
2017-18	76	£118,800	£12,698	£4,122	£1,816	—	£137,436
2018-19	76	£125,070	£15,582	£5,148	£2,370	—	£148,171
2019-20	72	£127,557	£15,845	£5,270	£1,632	—	£150,304
2020-21	61	£137,758	£15,738	£5,410	£1,169	—	£160,075
2021-22	53	£157,672	£17,134	£5,480	£2,633	—	£182,920
2022-23	51	£163,153	£16,722	£5,910	£2,170	—	£187,955
2023-24	51	£170,614	£16,714	£6,330	£2,227	—	£195,885
2024-25	45	£189,928	£13,491	£6,593	£2,106	—	£212,118
2025-26	20	—	£3,792	£6,870	—	—	£10,662

A year in which Sir Julian Lewis 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£102,865
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,661

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£9,350
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	18	£677
Install/Maint Office Equip.	6	£323
Advertising	12	£310
Newspapers/Journals	2	£119
Stationery Purchase	2	£101

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	5	£4,394
Council Tax	2	£2,262
Water	2	£1,011
Electricity	2	£420
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£276
Ground Rent	2	£200

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£2,649

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£102,865	£102,865
25 May 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,661	£2,661
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£2,649	£2,649
20 March 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	COUNCIL TAX	£1,147	£1,147
1 April 2016	Accommodation	Council Tax	COUNCIL TAX, 2016-2017	£1,115	£1,115
11 March 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£931	£931
17 December 2016	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£931	£931
4 September 2016	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£909	£909
1 April 2016	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£909	£909
24 February 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
25 January 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
20 December 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
25 November 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
26 October 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
27 September 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779

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 Sir Julian Lewis 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 · Sir Julian Lewis’s register of interests and votes · Sources