MPs’ business costs

Luke Pollard

IPSA paid £1,939,344 against 1,808 published rows for Luke Pollard between 2017-18 and 2025-26 as the member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport BC, then Plymouth Sutton and Devonport 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, 2018-19

214 claims, £205,848 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	£153,315	74.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	156	£22,517	10.9%
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.	54	£18,564	9.0%
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	£11,413	5.5%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£40	0.0%

Every year in the register

Luke Pollard’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2017-18 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
2017-18	160	£112,848	£24,830	£12,318	£6,602	—	£156,598
2018-19	214	£153,315	£22,517	£18,564	£11,413	£40	£205,848
2019-20	204	£143,734	£18,361	£18,955	£9,288	—	£190,338
2020-21	202	£184,101	£23,948	£21,814	£3,817	—	£233,680
2021-22	213	£201,656	£25,174	£20,559	£6,875	£3,815	£258,079
2022-23	228	£214,444	£26,511	£21,866	£10,415	—	£273,236
2023-24	272	£227,754	£27,841	£24,388	£13,929	—	£293,912
2024-25	223	£240,307	£29,108	£25,053	£15,205	—	£309,672
2025-26	92	£1,429	£12,449	£4,102	—	—	£17,980

A year in which Luke Pollard 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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£149,715
Pooled Services	1	£3,600

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£9,028
Business Rates	4	£1,899
Computer HW Purchase	6	£1,882
Furniture Purchase	14	£1,529
Const Office Repairs	3	£1,460
Other Equip Purchase	29	£1,285

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£16,534
Council Tax	10	£959
Electricity	12	£468
Gas	12	£359
Water	8	£243

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£11,413

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£40

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£149,715	£149,715
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£11,413	£11,413
28 March 2019	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRS	£3,600	£3,600
7 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,675	£1,675
19 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,675	£1,675
29 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,675	£1,675
12 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,675	£1,675
14 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Rent London Accommodation	£1,675	£1,675
1 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accomodation	£1,200	£1,200
1 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accomodation	£1,200	£1,200
2 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accomodation	£1,200	£1,200
1 June 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Accommodation	£1,200	£1,200
1 May 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Rent	£1,200	£1,200
3 April 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Rent	£1,200	£1,200
3 April 2018	Office Costs	Business Rates	Payment Card	£1,037	£1,037

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 Luke Pollard 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 · Luke Pollard’s register of interests and votes · Sources