MPs’ business costs

Kerry McCarthy

IPSA paid £3,148,089 against 2,595 published rows for Kerry McCarthy between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Bristol East 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, 2025-26

47 claims, £8,440 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
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	39	£5,717	67.7%
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.	7	£2,573	30.5%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£150	1.8%

Every year in the register

Kerry McCarthy’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	288	£93,388	£13,561	£15,851	£2,844	—	£125,644
2011-12	335	£113,374	£16,112	£19,227	£3,202	—	£151,916
2012-13	329	£136,949	£18,856	£22,095	£4,810	—	£182,711
2013-14	291	£131,680	£20,708	£20,100	£3,234	—	£175,722
2014-15	226	£138,138	£18,098	£20,491	£3,928	—	£180,655
2015-16	120	£140,000	£22,849	£19,000	£5,981	£942	£188,772
2016-17	96	£140,187	£19,407	£16,431	£4,203	—	£180,228
2017-18	132	£148,722	£23,603	£22,421	£4,278	—	£199,024
2018-19	128	£151,429	£25,029	£21,025	£3,461	£513	£201,458
2019-20	129	£150,344	£24,564	£24,966	£4,622	—	£204,497
2020-21	90	£180,291	£24,704	£17,875	£2,465	£3,414	£228,750
2021-22	84	£190,433	£27,136	£21,076	£5,098	—	£243,743
2022-23	107	£214,538	£27,203	£25,360	£4,550	£240	£271,891
2023-24	114	£234,582	£29,712	£27,772	£4,584	—	£296,649
2024-25	79	£249,069	£26,940	£26,146	£5,833	—	£307,988
2025-26	47	—	£5,717	£2,573	—	£150	£8,440

A year in which Kerry McCarthy 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, 2025-26

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

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery & printing	16	£2,266
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	9	£842
Software & applications	1	£738
Venue hire, meetings & surgeries	5	£690
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	2	£360
Equipment - purchase	3	£315

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	6	£2,053
Hotel - London	1	£520

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£150

Largest claims, 2025-26

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
5 June 2025	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£738	£738
6 October 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	WWW.WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK	£691	£691
10 February 2026	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	STAPLES	£661	£661
3 May 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMB	£570	£570
6 January 2026	Accommodation	Council tax	WWW.WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK	£554	£554
28 August 2025	Accommodation	Hotel - London	EXPEDIA [***]	£520	£520
11 February 2026	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	CARTRIDGEPEOPLE.COM	£290	£290
10 February 2026	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	CARTRIDGEPEOPLE.COM	£290	£290
1 July 2025	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£281	£281
19 August 2025	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Wallpaper replacement (deduction from previous office deposit)	£240	£240
19 August 2025	Office Costs	Cleaning services	Carpet cleaning (deduction from previous office deposit)	£222	£222
29 July 2025	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner August 2025	£208	£208
9 June 2025	Office Costs	Venue hire, meetings & surgeries	—	£208	£208
31 October 2025	Office Costs	TV licence	Annual fee for TV licence at constituency office, [*][][**]	£175	£175
20 November 2025	Office Costs	Venue hire, meetings & surgeries	—	£174	£174

Claims refused and money repaid, 2025-26

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £102 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Kerry McCarthy 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 · Kerry McCarthy’s register of interests and votes · Sources