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, 2018-19

228 claims, £162,915 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.	85	£115,832	71.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	89	£25,012	15.4%
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.	53	£9,274	5.7%
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	£12,797	7.9%

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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£111,692
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£3,100
Staff Training Costs	1	£420
Own Vehicle Car Volunteer	81	£386
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£234

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£6,600
Computer Hire	8	£3,350
Professional Services: Direct	1	£3,100
Computer SW Purchase	14	£2,371
Computer HW Purchase	2	£1,723
Stationery Purchase	28	£1,599

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Hotel London Area	53	£9,274

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,797

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£111,692	£111,692
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£12,797	£12,797
22 August 2018	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£3,100	£3,100
22 August 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£3,100	£3,100
4 April 2018	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet	£1,674	£1,674
30 January 2019	Office Costs	Website - Design/Production	Website Invoice [***] 2019	£1,080	£1,080
22 August 2018	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
31 July 2018	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	Mac Software Annual Payment	£899	£899
7 June 2018	Office Costs	Business Rates	Business Rates 18-19	£804	£804
10 April 2018	Office Costs	Business Rates	Business Rates 2016-17,2017-18	£609	£609
19 April 2018	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	April Payment Card	£564	£564
26 February 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
29 January 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
19 December 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£550	£550
22 November 2018	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