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, 2017-18

137 claims, £171,597 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	£139,626	81.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	128	£20,033	11.7%
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.	6	£2,972	1.7%
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	£8,965	5.2%

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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£134,826
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£4,800

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£5,830
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	28	£4,946
Stationery Purchase	19	£3,294
Computer HW Purchase	3	£2,417
Parliamentary Accountancy	2	£1,308
Const Office Cleaning	28	£617

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	2	£2,127
Buildings Insurance	1	£626
Electricity	2	£171
Water	1	£48

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£8,965

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£134,826	£134,826
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£8,965	£8,965
15 August 2017	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	prs17/18	£4,800	£4,800
27 March 2018	Accommodation	Council Tax	CT2018	£1,240	£1,240
25 January 2018	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	jan pc- resub	£1,116	£1,116
4 April 2017	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	march/april pC- resub	£947	£947
7 July 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	C. tax	£887	£887
26 February 2018	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	pc feb	£654	£654
16 May 2017	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	PC april/may- resub	£654	£654
9 July 2017	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	ins	£626	£626
27 April 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	PC april/may- resub	£515	£515
26 April 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£508	£508
2 August 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	pc	£500	£500
9 February 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£487	£487
9 January 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£487	£487

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