MPs’ business costs

Paul Maskey

IPSA paid £2,529,906 against 642 published rows for Paul Maskey between 2011-12 and 2025-26 as the member for Belfast West BC. 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, 2020-21

67 claims, £210,324 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	£179,206	85.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	63	£30,744	14.6%
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.	2	£374	0.2%

Every year in the register

Paul Maskey’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2011-12 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	Total
2011-12	5	£80,269	£11,789	—	£196	£92,255
2012-13	9	£105,968	£16,358	—	£1,893	£124,218
2013-14	7	£105,883	£19,301	—	£2,519	£127,703
2014-15	3	£129,983	£12,000	—	£2,471	£144,454
2015-16	3	£136,753	£12,000	—	£285	£149,038
2016-17	9	£119,399	£3,408	—	£1,595	£124,402
2017-18	44	£150,900	£23,306	£827	£3,679	£178,712
2018-19	84	£147,759	£15,554	£2,381	£7,490	£173,184
2019-20	77	£153,489	£16,004	£1,741	£4,860	£176,094
2020-21	67	£179,206	£30,744	—	£374	£210,324
2021-22	41	£201,733	£26,823	£525	£1,274	£230,356
2022-23	65	£209,420	£27,380	£1,244	£3,845	£241,889
2023-24	126	£233,085	£27,830	£837	£4,697	£266,449
2024-25	55	£233,918	£31,579	£390	£2,243	£268,130
2025-26	47	—	£20,602	£2,097	—	£22,699

A year in which Paul Maskey 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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£179,206
MP Budget Overspend	1	£0

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	14	£9,059
Equipment - purchase	3	£5,020
Service charge & ground Rent	4	£4,852
Business rates	1	£4,401
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	13	£1,840
Insurance - buildings	1	£1,043

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Air travel	1	£363
Rail	1	£11

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£179,206	£179,206
23 November 2020	Office Costs	Business rates	Unit32 Rates 01.10.20 - 31.03.21	£4,401	£4,401
4 April 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£2,575	£2,575
31 January 2021	Office Costs	Service charge & ground Rent	Service charge on office	£2,233	£2,233
1 February 2021	Office Costs	Service charge & ground Rent	Service charge on office	£1,700	£1,700
25 November 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£1,500	£1,500
2 January 2021	Office Costs	Insurance - buildings	HJS insurance Bill for unit 21	£1,043	£1,043
8 April 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£945	£945
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for 2020-21	£871	£871
2 March 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800
2 February 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800
14 January 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800
14 January 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800
14 January 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800
14 January 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£800	£800

Claims refused and money repaid, 2020-21

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £2,864 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Paul Maskey 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 · Paul Maskey’s register of interests and votes · Sources