Civometry

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, 2024-25

130 claims, £250,923 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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£217,35686.6%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.109£21,9978.8%
AccommodationThe 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.4£5,0132.0%
TravelJourneys 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.14£6,5322.6%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.1£240.0%

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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11108£65,114£17,978£2,324£5,329—£90,745
2011-12190£111,740£20,069£1,843£5,545—£139,196
2012-13200£135,960£18,784£4,801£6,360—£165,905
2013-14165£133,957£17,648£3,749£9,173—£164,527
2014-15135£132,490£21,128—£9,257—£162,875
2015-16114£130,430£19,060—£8,509—£158,000
2016-1797£121,841£23,164—£8,341—£153,345
2017-18137£139,626£20,033£2,972£8,965—£171,597
2018-19104£137,280£21,655£457£11,131—£170,522
2019-20150£143,942£20,797£2,951£6,047—£173,736
2020-2160£152,593£19,160£2,650£3,821—£178,224
2021-2287£167,721£21,732£4,308£6,144—£199,905
2022-23126£184,989£22,761£4,039£6,154—£217,943
2023-24149£202,736£29,713£6,825£6,618—£245,892
2024-25130£217,356£21,997£5,013£6,532£24£250,923
2025-2674—£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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£212,756
Pooled staffing services1£4,600

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£7,801
Stationery & printing31£4,164
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage10£3,623
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs9£1,534
Advertising and contact cards2£1,134
Software & applications3£940

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Council tax1£3,351
Utilities2£992
Insurance - buildings1£670

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail4£2,983
Mileage - car4£1,772
Parking1£1,049
Hotel - London1£398
Hotel - European1£182
Railcard1£70

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Translation services (Welsh Language)1£24

Largest claims, 2024-25

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£212,756£212,756
31 March 2025Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£7,801£7,801
12 April 2024StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£4,600£4,600
2 April 2024AccommodationCouncil taxannual charge£3,351£3,351
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,785£1,785
31 March 2025MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,524£1,524
31 March 2025MP TravelParkingAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,049£1,049
24 October 2024Office CostsAdvertising and contact cardspension credit letters£1,008£1,008
31 March 2025Staff TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£956£956
17 July 2024Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£720£720
27 January 2025Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline & internet package£689£689
19 June 2024AccommodationInsurance - buildingsannual fee for building insurance£670£670
13 June 2024AccommodationUtilitiesGas£632£632
19 November 2024Office CostsMaintenance, Redecorations & RepairsWWW.CHURCHESFIRE.COM£538£538
20 March 2025Office CostsStationery & printingBanner March 2025£458£458

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