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, 2022-23

126 claims, £217,943 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.	1	£184,989	84.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	112	£22,761	10.4%
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.	5	£4,039	1.9%
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.	8	£6,154	2.8%

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, 2022-23

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£184,989

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	12	£5,846
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,200
Equipment - purchase	7	£4,032
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	8	£2,343
Stationery & printing	43	£1,692
Cleaning services	14	£1,305

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	1	£2,987
Insurance - buildings	1	£610
Utilities	3	£442

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mileage - car	2	£4,520
Rail	2	£1,249
Parking	1	£200
Hotel - UK Not London	1	£100
Congestion charge & toll	1	£45
Taxi	1	£39

Largest claims, 2022-23

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 2023	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year	£184,989	£184,989
31 March 2023	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2022-23	£4,500	£4,500
7 September 2022	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,200	£4,200
5 April 2022	Accommodation	Council tax	registered address for FY22/23	£2,987	£2,987
30 March 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£1,904	£1,904
31 March 2023	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2022-23	£1,085	£1,085
26 October 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£994	£994
17 March 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£915	£915
27 July 2022	Accommodation	Insurance - buildings	Building Insurance reg property	£610	£610
17 August 2022	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
31 March 2023	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2022-23	£520	£520
16 March 2023	Office Costs	Rent	—	£487	£487
16 February 2023	Office Costs	Rent	—	£487	£487
17 January 2023	Office Costs	Rent	—	£487	£487
15 December 2022	Office Costs	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