MPs’ business costs

Priti Patel

IPSA paid £2,533,888 against 967 published rows for Priti Patel between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Witham 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

139 claims, £152,287 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.	41	£124,058	81.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	97	£22,201	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.	1	£6,028	4.0%

Every year in the register

Priti Patel’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	Total
2010-11	43	£66,624	£10,928	—	£3,865	£81,416
2011-12	60	£111,550	£8,811	—	£5,859	£126,221
2012-13	112	£110,414	£16,181	—	£6,216	£132,811
2013-14	139	£124,058	£22,201	—	£6,028	£152,287
2014-15	49	£129,182	£16,177	—	£4,126	£149,485
2015-16	28	£118,890	£11,041	—	£2,583	£132,514
2016-17	59	£138,678	£9,080	—	£3,288	£151,046
2017-18	36	£117,831	£22,623	—	£12,218	£152,672
2018-19	68	£129,698	£19,297	—	£4,068	£153,064
2019-20	77	£148,238	£7,317	£15,167	£6,996	£177,718
2020-21	39	£168,624	£7,807	£26,000	£179	£202,611
2021-22	28	£180,688	£5,172	£28,788	£231	£214,879
2022-23	59	£204,111	£10,015	—	£1,108	£215,234
2023-24	78	£224,000	£11,929	—	£2,255	£238,184
2024-25	60	£223,650	£16,670	—	£4,698	£245,018
2025-26	32	—	£8,729	—	—	£8,729

A year in which Priti Patel 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	£118,605
Pooled Services	1	£3,960
Public Tr OTHER Volunteer	1	£1,310
Food & Drink Volunteer	38	£183

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	1	£6,900
Stationery Purchase	63	£5,943
Website - Hosting	1	£2,664
Computer HW Purchase	2	£2,250
Professional Services	2	£804
IT/Other Equipment Hire	9	£792

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,028

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	£118,605	£118,605
19 July 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	office rent 2013-2014	£6,900	£6,900
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£6,028	£6,028
29 January 2014	Staffing	Pooled Services	PRU Invoice [***]	£3,960	£3,960
1 April 2013	Office Costs	Website - Hosting	Parliamentary website	£2,664	£2,664
6 January 2014	Staffing	Public Tr OTHER Volunteer	intern travel ticket	£1,310	£1,310
3 April 2013	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	DELL PC + PRINTER	£1,159	£1,159
15 April 2013	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	PICT LAPTOP	£1,091	£1,091
10 October 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printing Victims Report	£1,079	£1,079
20 March 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	PRU Feb-March 2014	£660	£660
9 August 2013	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL	£578	£578
24 December 2013	Office Costs	Contact Cards	end of year contact card	£464	£464
31 March 2014	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printed schools certificates	£421	£421
8 September 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	parli blackberry sept 2013	£325	£325
10 July 2013	Office Costs	Install/Maint Office Equip.	pc installation local office	£259	£259

Claims refused and money repaid, 2013-14

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £39 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 Priti Patel 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 · Priti Patel’s register of interests and votes · Sources