MPs’ business costs

Lilian Greenwood

IPSA paid £3,037,227 against 2,037 published rows for Lilian Greenwood between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Nottingham South 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, 2010-11

167 claims, £120,573 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.	50	£82,634	68.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	93	£15,911	13.2%
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.	21	£11,626	9.6%
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	£4,842	4.0%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£5,560	4.6%

Every year in the register

Lilian Greenwood’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	167	£82,634	£15,911	£11,626	£4,842	£5,560	£120,573
2011-12	269	£115,540	£19,929	£19,310	£4,939	—	£159,718
2012-13	197	£116,611	£20,281	£19,080	£6,088	—	£162,061
2013-14	146	£137,991	£21,494	£19,513	£7,091	—	£186,090
2014-15	130	£138,788	£20,936	£19,600	£7,027	—	£186,351
2015-16	110	£129,053	£19,419	£19,600	£6,458	—	£174,530
2016-17	118	£140,732	£23,050	£19,600	£7,735	—	£191,117
2017-18	118	£143,574	£23,429	£19,600	£6,610	—	£193,213
2018-19	107	£147,145	£22,790	£20,863	£7,678	—	£198,477
2019-20	144	£149,789	£21,892	£20,900	£4,320	—	£196,902
2020-21	127	£172,907	£20,524	£19,158	£1,998	—	£214,588
2021-22	81	£200,665	£26,152	£19,733	£3,826	—	£250,377
2022-23	89	£191,822	£20,499	£21,883	£4,083	—	£238,287
2023-24	110	£205,008	£23,705	£25,767	£4,879	—	£259,358
2024-25	87	£234,738	£19,766	£27,190	£5,426	—	£287,119
2025-26	37	—	£17,767	—	—	£700	£18,467

A year in which Lilian Greenwood 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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£82,192
Public Tr RAIL Int/Volntr - RT	3	£222
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	34	£157
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr	9	£45
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	3	£18

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	10	£7,389
Photocopier Hire	8	£2,179
Stationery Purchase	21	£2,160
Payment Telephone/Mobile	14	£1,121
Other	20	£1,028
Computer SW Purchase	2	£395

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	10	£9,522
Service Charges	9	£1,845
Interim Hotel London Area	2	£259

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£4,842

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Contingency	2	£5,560

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£82,192	£82,192
11 November 2010	Miscellaneous Expenses	Contingency	Security System Nov 2010	£5,511	£5,511
31 March 2011	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2010-11	£4,842	£4,842
25 February 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,137	£1,137
1 February 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Feb 2011	£932	£932
1 January 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Jan 2011	£932	£932
1 December 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Dec 2010	£932	£932
1 November 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Nov 2010	£932	£932
1 October 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Oct 2010	£932	£932
1 September 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Sep 2010	£932	£932
1 August 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation Aug 2010	£932	£932
1 July 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation July 2010	£932	£932
1 June 2010	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***]	£932	£932
25 February 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£792	£792
26 January 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£792	£792

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 Lilian Greenwood 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 · Lilian Greenwood’s register of interests and votes · Sources