MPs’ business costs

Lucy Powell

IPSA paid £2,438,587 against 1,042 published rows for Lucy Powell between 2012-13 and 2025-26 as the member for Manchester Central 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, 2021-22

47 claims, £210,877 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.	2	£188,547	89.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	38	£14,913	7.1%
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.	7	£7,416	3.5%

Every year in the register

Lucy Powell’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2012-13 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
2012-13	70	£30,274	£2,408	£2,589	£3,356	£2,371	—	£40,998
2013-14	189	£135,008	£20,199	£3,464	£7,187	£2,899	—	£168,757
2014-15	122	£136,702	£18,143	£2,581	£7,228	—	—	£164,653
2015-16	72	£125,223	£18,657	—	£8,016	—	—	£151,895
2016-17	65	£139,255	£23,083	—	£7,718	—	—	£170,055
2017-18	53	£146,482	£22,541	—	£8,540	—	—	£177,564
2018-19	57	£163,487	£20,784	—	£10,458	—	—	£194,729
2019-20	52	£155,930	£14,021	—	£6,371	—	—	£176,321
2020-21	63	£177,932	£21,058	—	£5,432	—	—	£204,422
2021-22	47	£188,547	£14,913	—	£7,416	—	—	£210,877
2022-23	62	£217,064	£25,337	—	£9,913	—	—	£252,313
2023-24	74	£231,207	£21,675	—	£10,491	—	—	£263,373
2024-25	82	£202,296	£39,729	—	£12,529	—	—	£254,554
2025-26	34	—	£7,035	—	—	—	£1,041	£8,076

A year in which Lucy Powell 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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£184,347
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,200

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£8,945
Working From Home Allowance	1	£2,102
Stationery & printing	19	£1,345
Software & applications	2	£625
Bought-in services	2	£540
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	2	£505

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	3	£7,089
Mileage - car	1	£189
Parking	2	£105
Taxi	1	£33

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£184,347	£184,347
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£8,945	£8,945
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£6,860	£6,860
2 September 2021	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,200	£4,200
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£2,102	£2,102
7 July 2021	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
26 April 2021	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline & internet package	£402	£402
21 March 2022	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Parliamentary accountancy	£276	£276
28 April 2021	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Parliamentary accountancy	£264	£264
17 August 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£230	£230
31 March 2022	Dependant Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£229	£229
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£189	£189
26 April 2021	Office Costs	Utilities	Water	£142	£142
27 September 2021	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner November 2021	£126	£126
20 April 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£107	£107

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 Lucy Powell 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 · Lucy Powell’s register of interests and votes · Sources