MPs’ business costs

Nick Smith

IPSA paid £2,655,963 against 2,026 published rows for Nick Smith between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Blaenau Gwent CC, then Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney 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

200 claims, £165,905 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.	18	£135,960	82.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	151	£18,784	11.3%
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.	30	£4,801	2.9%
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	£6,360	3.8%

Every year in the register

Nick Smith’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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	108	£65,114	£17,978	£2,324	£5,329	—	£90,745
2011-12	190	£111,740	£20,069	£1,843	£5,545	—	£139,196
2012-13	200	£135,960	£18,784	£4,801	£6,360	—	£165,905
2013-14	165	£133,957	£17,648	£3,749	£9,173	—	£164,527
2014-15	135	£132,490	£21,128	—	£9,257	—	£162,875
2015-16	114	£130,430	£19,060	—	£8,509	—	£158,000
2016-17	97	£121,841	£23,164	—	£8,341	—	£153,345
2017-18	137	£139,626	£20,033	£2,972	£8,965	—	£171,597
2018-19	104	£137,280	£21,655	£457	£11,131	—	£170,522
2019-20	150	£143,942	£20,797	£2,951	£6,047	—	£173,736
2020-21	60	£152,593	£19,160	£2,650	£3,821	—	£178,224
2021-22	87	£167,721	£21,732	£4,308	£6,144	—	£199,905
2022-23	126	£184,989	£22,761	£4,039	£6,154	—	£217,943
2023-24	149	£202,736	£29,713	£6,825	£6,618	—	£245,892
2024-25	130	£217,356	£21,997	£5,013	£6,532	£24	£250,923
2025-26	74	—	£12,628	—	—	—	£12,628

A year in which Nick Smith 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	£122,852
Professional Services (Staff.)	13	£8,308
Pooled Services	3	£3,600
Pooled Staffing Services	1	£1,200

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	15	£5,818
Stationery Purchase	45	£3,343
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	25	£1,774
Other	31	£1,456
Other Equip Purchase	4	£1,450
Training MP Staff	2	£1,193

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	2	£1,833
Buildings Insurance	2	£1,012
Gas	4	£866
Electricity	3	£461
Water	12	£196
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£190

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,360

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	£122,852	£122,852
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£6,360	£6,360
3 April 2012	Accommodation	Council Tax	IPSA Card 03/04 2012	£1,660	£1,660
17 January 2013	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRS Jan 2013-March 2013	£1,200	£1,200
15 November 2012	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRS Oct-Dec 12	£1,200	£1,200
26 July 2012	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRS July12-Sept12	£1,200	£1,200
3 May 2012	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRS April12- June 12	£1,200	£1,200
13 February 2013	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	[***] 2013	£1,145	£1,145
26 July 2012	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	Laptop for Member 2012	£972	£972
28 June 2012	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Dell- laptop June 2012	£972	£972
20 April 2012	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	Principality 2012 annual fee	£939	£939
15 May 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Commercial	£842	£842
3 September 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley Aug 2012	£769	£769
6 June 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley May 2012	£769	£769
2 April 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley March	£769	£769

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 Nick Smith 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 · Nick Smith’s register of interests and votes · Sources