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, 2013-14

165 claims, £164,527 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.	8	£133,957	81.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	136	£17,648	10.7%
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.	20	£3,749	2.3%
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	£9,173	5.6%

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, 2013-14

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£128,757
Professional Services (Staff.)	6	£4,000
Pooled Services	1	£1,200

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£5,780
Professional Services	8	£4,095
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	25	£2,286
Stationery Purchase	43	£1,360
Other	31	£1,082
Training MP Staff	2	£1,005

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Buildings Insurance	1	£1,112
Council Tax	1	£1,000
Gas	2	£518
Approved Security Measures	2	£425
Electricity	3	£218
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£198

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£9,173

Largest claims, 2013-14

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 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£128,757	£128,757
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£9,173	£9,173
14 February 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	PRS Q4	£1,200	£1,200
27 November 2013	Office Costs	Professional Services	PRS Q3 oct -Dec 13	£1,200	£1,200
24 September 2013	Office Costs	Professional Services	PRS July-Sept13	£1,200	£1,200
1 May 2013	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRS April 13 to June 13	£1,200	£1,200
18 April 2013	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	[***] Home Insurance	£1,112	£1,112
30 June 2013	Accommodation	Council Tax	Council Tax [***]	£1,000	£1,000
9 October 2013	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley Sept/Oct 13 Inv [***]	£923	£923
31 March 2014	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	staff team training march 2014	£920	£920
11 March 2014	Office Costs	Newspapers/Journals	Financial Times	£702	£702
11 September 2013	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley Aug Inv 346	£615	£615
1 August 2013	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	July 2013 Office Manager	£615	£615
1 July 2013	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Bexley Services June 2013	£615	£615
9 June 2013	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Office Management May 13	£615	£615

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