MPs’ business costs

Louise Haigh

IPSA paid £2,028,439 against 1,505 published rows for Louise Haigh between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Sheffield, Heeley BC, then Sheffield Heeley 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, 2016-17

147 claims, £184,254 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.	5	£138,927	75.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	116	£22,328	12.1%
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.	25	£17,622	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	£5,377	2.9%

Every year in the register

Louise Haigh’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2015-16	118	£106,589	£10,683	£12,940	£2,937	£5,146	£108	£138,403
2016-17	147	£138,927	£22,328	£17,622	£5,377	—	—	£184,254
2017-18	141	£150,031	£22,432	£16,704	£2,866	—	—	£192,033
2018-19	147	£152,497	£19,485	£16,914	£6,653	—	—	£195,549
2019-20	135	£149,923	£15,671	£14,692	£7,698	—	—	£187,985
2020-21	113	£156,068	£23,952	£16,927	£3,115	—	—	£200,062
2021-22	122	£150,473	£25,578	£16,823	£5,716	—	—	£198,589
2022-23	182	£167,736	£26,049	£17,769	£6,066	—	—	£217,621
2023-24	180	£204,948	£26,971	£23,881	£5,384	—	—	£261,184
2024-25	150	£178,314	£21,078	£23,050	£3,743	—	—	£226,185
2025-26	70	—	£23,848	£2,727	—	—	—	£26,576

A year in which Louise Haigh 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	£135,762
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£2,890
Staff Training Costs	2	£200
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£75

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£8,423
Professional Services	2	£4,335
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	12	£2,207
IT/Other Equipment Hire	7	£1,023
Const Office Gas	5	£972
Training MP Staff	2	£822

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£16,501
Council Tax	7	£699
Electricity	3	£284
Gas	1	£95
Water	1	£44

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£5,377

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	£135,762	£135,762
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£5,377	£5,377
22 July 2016	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Professional services	£2,890	£2,890
16 February 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services	Professional Services	£2,408	£2,408
1 December 2016	Office Costs	Professional Services	Bought-in professional service	£1,927	£1,927
16 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
20 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
18 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
18 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
16 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
16 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
16 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
20 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
16 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,379	£1,379
18 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,354	£1,354

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 Louise Haigh 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 · Louise Haigh’s register of interests and votes · Sources