MPs’ business costs

Kenneth Stevenson

IPSA paid £128,619 against 69 published rows for Kenneth Stevenson between 2024-25 and 2025-26 as the member for Airdrie and Shotts 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, 2024-25

26 claims, £109,998 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£71,26964.8%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.9£2,9922.7%
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.8£17,42415.8%
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.8£18,31316.6%

Every year in the register

Kenneth Stevenson’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2024-25 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 costsAccommodationTravelTotal
2024-2526£71,269£2,992£17,424£18,313£109,998
2025-2643£17,810£810£18,620

A year in which Kenneth Stevenson 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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£71,269

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Equipment - purchase2£1,931
Software & applications2£935
Advertising and contact cards1£79
Venue hire, meetings & surgeries4£47

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent8£17,424

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Hotel - London2£9,242
Rail3£7,777
Air travel3£1,294

Largest claims, 2024-25

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 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£71,269£71,269
31 March 2025Staff TravelHotel - LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£7,032£7,032
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£5,646£5,646
31 March 2025MP TravelHotel - LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£2,210£2,210
14 March 2025AccommodationRentRent for April 2025 - London Accommodation£2,178£2,178
12 February 2025AccommodationRentMP London rent for the month of January£2,178£2,178
5 February 2025AccommodationRentRent for London accommodation for month of February£2,178£2,178
19 December 2024AccommodationRentDecember 30th 2024 Rent Claim£2,178£2,178
30 October 2024AccommodationRentRent for October£2,178£2,178
30 October 2024AccommodationRentRent for August£2,178£2,178
30 October 2024AccommodationRentRent for September£2,178£2,178
30 October 2024AccommodationRentRent for November£2,178£2,178
14 March 2025Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOffice furniture£1,751£1,751
31 March 2025Staff TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,749£1,749
31 March 2025MP TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£769£769

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 Kenneth Stevenson 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 · Kenneth Stevenson’s register of interests and votes · Sources