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, 2012-13

178 claims, £144,069 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.	30	£117,775	81.7%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	120	£10,307	7.2%
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.	27	£8,827	6.1%
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.	1	£7,161	5.0%

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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£111,955
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£3,960
Professional Services (Staff.)	8	£840
Public Tr RAIL Other Int/Volnt	13	£815
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	7	£204

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery Purchase	23	£3,376
Const Office Rent	4	£3,264
Internet Usage/Rental	25	£672
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	14	£628
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£604
Professional Services	6	£590

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Buildings Insurance	1	£2,732
Council Tax	10	£2,151
Electricity	2	£1,865
Gas	2	£1,358
Telephone Usage/Rental	9	£349
Television Licence	1	£146

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,161

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£111,955	£111,955
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£7,161	£7,161
7 May 2012	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£3,960	£3,960
17 September 2012	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	Bills to Sep 12	£2,732	£2,732
3 October 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency Office Expenses	£1,236	£1,236
27 April 2012	Accommodation	Electricity	Accommodation Bills Apr May 12	£1,124	£1,124
17 January 2013	Accommodation	Gas	Bills to Mid Jan 13	£859	£859
13 March 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office cost to 13 Mar 13	£825	£825
25 July 2012	Accommodation	Electricity	BT and EDF payment Jul 12	£742	£742
1 August 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Expenses to Jul 12	£636	£636
9 August 2012	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL	£604	£604
28 March 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office cost to 31 Mar 13	£567	£567
5 December 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Surger/Stationary to 6 Dec 12	£531	£531
26 October 2012	Accommodation	Gas	Bills to mid Nov 12	£499	£499
11 February 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Office cost to 13 Mar 13	£372	£372

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