MPs’ business costs

Rushanara Ali

IPSA paid £3,034,831 against 1,737 published rows for Rushanara Ali between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Bethnal Green and Bow BC, then Bethnal Green and Stepney 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, 2010-11

39 claims, £100,795 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.	13	£87,391	86.7%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	26	£13,403	13.3%

Every year in the register

Rushanara Ali’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	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	39	£87,391	£13,403	—	—	£100,795
2011-12	369	£116,249	£23,389	—	—	£139,637
2012-13	228	£152,230	£24,315	£240	—	£176,785
2013-14	165	£143,117	£16,352	—	—	£159,468
2014-15	81	£145,089	£24,822	—	—	£169,911
2015-16	62	£154,743	£25,805	—	—	£180,548
2016-17	75	£151,157	£21,349	—	—	£172,507
2017-18	67	£160,561	£23,815	—	—	£184,376
2018-19	73	£162,592	£23,748	—	—	£186,340
2019-20	77	£164,760	£26,497	—	£3,619	£194,876
2020-21	120	£205,778	£40,968	—	—	£246,746
2021-22	76	£216,541	£29,343	£249	—	£246,134
2022-23	83	£233,442	£28,272	£403	—	£262,118
2023-24	106	£247,465	£30,781	£380	—	£278,626
2024-25	82	£268,550	£33,434	—	£23,466	£325,450
2025-26	34	—	£10,514	—	—	£10,514

A year in which Rushanara Ali 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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£86,172
Public Tr OTHER Int/Volntr	5	£640
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	7	£580

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	2	£8,269
Office Furniture Purchase	3	£2,028
Stationery Purchase	11	£1,914
Payment Telephone/Mobile	8	£814
Computer SW Purchase	1	£335
Telephone/Mobile Purchase	1	£44

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£86,172	£86,172
10 February 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	2011.02 May-Jan Rent	£5,952	£5,928
29 March 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	2011.03 BGB Office Rent JanMar	£2,341	£2,341
15 August 2010	Office Costs	Office Furniture Purchase	2010.12 General Admin	£1,354	£1,354
21 February 2011	Office Costs	Office Furniture Purchase	2011.04 BGB Office Chairs	£545	£545
21 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2011.03 Banner Invoices	£446	£446
21 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2011.03 Banner Invoices	£358	£358
10 February 2011	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	2011.02 CFL Caseworker	£335	£335
31 March 2011	Staffing	Public Tr OTHER Int/Volntr	2011.03 Vol Exp [***] JulNov	£331	£331
21 February 2011	Office Costs	Payment Telephone/Mobile	2011.02 BT Install and 1stQ	£278	£278
31 March 2011	Staffing	Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	2011.03 Vol Exp [***] JulNov	£232	£232
21 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2011.03 Banner Invoices	£213	£213
21 February 2011	Office Costs	Payment Telephone/Mobile	2011.02 BT Install and 1stQ	£204	£204
21 February 2011	Office Costs	Payment Telephone/Mobile	2011.02 BT Install and 1stQ	£197	£197
10 February 2011	Staffing	Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	2011.02 [***] NovDec Exp	£167	£167

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £24 not paid and £0 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 Rushanara Ali 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 · Rushanara Ali’s register of interests and votes · Sources