MPs’ business costs

Dr Kieran Mullan

IPSA paid £1,284,970 against 863 published rows for Dr Kieran Mullan between 2019-20 and 2025-26 as the member for Crewe and Nantwich CC, then Bexhill and Battle 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, 2019-20

50 claims, £43,466 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.2£16,69238.4%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.32£20,20546.5%
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£3,5338.1%
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.6£2,7366.3%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£3000.7%

Every year in the register

Dr Kieran Mullan’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2019-20 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
2019-2050£16,692£20,205£3,533£2,736£300£43,466
2020-21123£149,569£25,096£15,553£1,560£5,450£197,228
2021-22122£180,001£24,324£19,348£3,686£227,359
2022-23152£181,972£26,912£18,240£7,662£234,786
2023-24160£221,001£17,416£14,440£12,171£210£265,239
2024-25189£235,823£32,562£20,134£7,101£6,383£302,004
2025-2667£200£11,032£3,656£14,888

A year in which Dr Kieran Mullan 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, 2019-20

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£15,807
Pooled staffing services1£885

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Equipment - purchase6£10,405
Stationery & printing16£4,321
Rent2£2,694
Moving Fees1£1,680
Software & applications4£971
Advertising and contact cards1£70

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Hotel - London8£3,533

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail3£1,790
Hotel - London1£875
Mileage - car1£59
Parking1£12

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Approved costs outside the Scheme2£300

Largest claims, 2019-20

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 2020StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year£15,807£15,807
27 March 2020Office CostsStationery & printingCOVID information letter and leaflet£4,225£4,225
24 March 2020Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOther office equipment£3,966£3,966
23 March 2020Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£3,185£3,185
24 February 2020Office CostsRentRemaining rent March paid to landlord£1,694£1,694
24 February 2020Office CostsMoving FeesLegal costs£1,680£1,680
31 March 2020MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2019-20£1,438£1,438
14 February 2020Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£1,216£1,216
31 March 2020Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOther office equipment£1,053£1,053
24 February 2020Office CostsRentInitial GBP1000 rent payment transferred via solicitor to complete from 10th Feb - 29th Feb£1,000£1,000
6 March 2020StaffingPooled staffing servicesPolicy Research Unit (Conservative)£885£885
31 March 2020MP TravelHotel - LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2019-20£875£875
22 January 2020Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£600£600
31 March 2020Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£600£600
5 March 2020AccommodationHotel - London[***]£525£525

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 Dr Kieran Mullan 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 · Dr Kieran Mullan’s register of interests and votes · Sources