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, 2017-18

217 claims, £178,531 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.	108	£137,180	76.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	65	£21,538	12.1%
Accommodation	The 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.	43	£6,866	3.8%
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	£12,947	7.3%

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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	135	£80,496	£19,753	£18,903	£3,094	£1,429	£123,676
2011-12	116	£112,350	£22,682	£23,196	£5,713	—	£163,940
2012-13	94	£109,239	£15,247	£24,009	£4,282	—	£152,777
2013-14	134	£106,133	£22,640	£18,508	£4,168	£497	£151,947
2014-15	122	£117,784	£25,730	£11,620	£4,960	—	£160,094
2015-16	144	£92,318	£20,718	£9,584	£11,513	—	£134,133
2016-17	144	£134,469	£18,719	£10,328	£12,478	£780	£176,774
2017-18	217	£137,180	£21,538	£6,866	£12,947	—	£178,531
2018-19	228	£115,832	£25,012	£9,274	£12,797	—	£162,915
2019-20	215	£145,007	£16,838	£13,613	£14,762	—	£190,220
2020-21	123	£114,355	£20,600	£6,176	£6	—	£141,136
2021-22	161	£150,173	£14,560	£18,033	£1,009	—	£183,776
2022-23	172	£120,718	£14,618	£12,881	£2,312	—	£150,529
2023-24	161	£150,091	£14,420	£23,550	£1,715	—	£189,776
2024-25	116	£194,669	£21,515	£13,149	£5,686	—	£235,019
2025-26	92	£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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£136,664
Own Vehicle Car Volunteer	107	£516

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£6,600
IT/Other Equipment Hire	10	£4,188
Professional Services: Direct	1	£2,680
Computer SW Purchase	2	£1,798
Other Equip Purchase	5	£1,348
Stationery Purchase	13	£1,093

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Hotel London Area	43	£6,866

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,947

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£136,664	£136,664
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£12,947	£12,947
27 April 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£2,680	£2,680
27 April 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
25 June 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	Mac Software	£898	£898
31 March 2018	Office Costs	Business Rates	Business Rates 2016-17,2017-18	£781	£781
22 September 2017	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	Aug-Sept Payment Card	£637	£637
23 February 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
26 January 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
21 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
24 November 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
29 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
29 September 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
29 August 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
27 July 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550

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