MPs’ business costs

Sir Mel Stride

IPSA paid £2,425,586 against 2,128 published rows for Sir Mel Stride between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Central Devon 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, 2011-12

142 claims, £133,701 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.	17	£101,641	76.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	103	£10,469	7.8%
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	£14,754	11.0%
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	£6,836	5.1%

Every year in the register

Sir Mel Stride’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	Total
2010-11	131	£84,723	£14,369	—	£5,724	£104,816
2011-12	142	£101,641	£10,469	£14,754	£6,836	£133,701
2012-13	178	£117,775	£10,307	£8,827	£7,161	£144,069
2013-14	140	£122,678	£8,371	£5,307	£6,902	£143,258
2014-15	132	£117,837	£11,514	—	£6,446	£135,797
2015-16	127	£105,982	£15,167	—	£3,194	£124,342
2016-17	95	£123,496	£9,218	—	£5,078	£137,792
2017-18	141	£121,396	£13,337	£2,358	£4,093	£141,185
2018-19	139	£135,641	£8,385	£4,057	£4,438	£152,521
2019-20	146	£145,220	£11,964	£3,069	£4,106	£164,360
2020-21	131	£169,976	£11,011	£4,141	£811	£185,938
2021-22	104	£162,114	£8,124	£4,076	£2,823	£177,136
2022-23	133	£189,779	£8,736	£8,532	£3,889	£210,936
2023-24	164	£198,413	£4,373	£19,101	£3,878	£225,764
2024-25	188	£199,284	£11,627	£21,947	£3,717	£236,575
2025-26	37	—	£3,618	£3,778	—	£7,396

A year in which Sir Mel Stride 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£95,663
Pooled Staffing Services	1	£3,960
Professional Services (Staff.)	10	£1,880
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	5	£138

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery Purchase	13	£2,659
Const Office Rent	2	£1,726
Computer HW Purchase	4	£1,567
Professional Services	12	£1,468
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	13	£1,210
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£636

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	6	£8,673
Service Charges	1	£2,126
Buildings Insurance	1	£1,516
Council Tax	4	£985
Electricity	1	£930
Telephone Usage/Rental	5	£175

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,836

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£95,663	£95,663
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£6,836	£6,836
3 June 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRU	£3,960	£3,960
8 November 2011	Accommodation	Service Charges	[***] Accommodation	£2,126	£2,126
1 August 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***] Terrace Rent	£1,658	£1,658
1 July 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***] Terrace Rent	£1,658	£1,658
1 June 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***] Terrace Rent	£1,658	£1,658
1 May 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***] Terrace Rent	£1,658	£1,658
1 April 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***] Terrace Rent	£1,658	£1,658
19 September 2011	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	Build Ins [***] 19 Sep11	£1,516	£1,516
7 March 2012	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Mac computer	£1,458	£1,458
19 January 2012	Accommodation	Electricity	Utility Council bills Feb 12	£930	£930
11 October 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office cost 11 Oct 11	£874	£874
24 June 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Exeter Office claim 6	£852	£852
21 February 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Office Expenses Feb 12	£735	£735

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 Sir Mel Stride 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 · Sir Mel Stride’s register of interests and votes · Sources