MPs’ business costs

Steve Barclay

IPSA paid £2,539,691 against 2,374 published rows for Steve Barclay between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for North East Cambridgeshire 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, 2016-17

144 claims, £176,774 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.11£134,46976.1%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.60£18,71910.6%
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.70£10,3285.8%
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.1£12,4787.1%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£7800.4%

Every year in the register

Steve Barclay’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
2010-11135£80,496£19,753£18,903£3,094£1,429£123,676
2011-12116£112,350£22,682£23,196£5,713£163,940
2012-1394£109,239£15,247£24,009£4,282£152,777
2013-14134£106,133£22,640£18,508£4,168£497£151,947
2014-15122£117,784£25,730£11,620£4,960£160,094
2015-16144£92,318£20,718£9,584£11,513£134,133
2016-17144£134,469£18,719£10,328£12,478£780£176,774
2017-18217£137,180£21,538£6,866£12,947£178,531
2018-19228£115,832£25,012£9,274£12,797£162,915
2019-20215£145,007£16,838£13,613£14,762£190,220
2020-21123£114,355£20,600£6,176£6£141,136
2021-22161£150,173£14,560£18,033£1,009£183,776
2022-23172£120,718£14,618£12,881£2,312£150,529
2023-24161£150,091£14,420£23,550£1,715£189,776
2024-25116£194,669£21,515£13,149£5,686£235,019
2025-2692£9,880£22,170£12,399£44,449

A year in which Steve Barclay 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£131,756
Pooled Services: Direct1£2,686
Food & Drink Volunteer4£15
Public Tr UND Volunteer5£12

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent11£6,160
IT/Other Equipment Hire13£5,086
Stationery Purchase12£1,282
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental2£1,210
Computer HW Purchase1£1,090
Computer SW Purchase1£900

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Hotel London Area70£10,328

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£12,478

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removal Costs - Contingency2£780

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year£131,756£131,756
31 March 2017TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2016-17£12,478£12,478
25 May 2016StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRU£2,686£2,686
29 June 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,194£1,194
1 April 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,194£1,194
8 July 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,100£1,100
21 June 2016Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseJune card reconciliatiation£1,090£1,090
25 May 2016Office CostsComputer SW PurchasePRU£900£900
27 September 2016Office CostsConst Office Tel. Usage/RentalPayment card reconciliation£860£860
24 February 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550
25 January 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550
20 December 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550
25 November 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550
26 October 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550
27 September 2016Office CostsConst Office Rent£550£550

Claims refused and money repaid, 2016-17

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £183 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 Steve Barclay 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 · Steve Barclay’s register of interests and votes · Sources