Details of MPs’ TV licence expense claims

IPSA holds the information that you request.

Under the Scheme of MPs' Business Costs and Expenses ('the Scheme'),  MPs are permitted to claim for expenses legitimately incurred whilst carrying out their parliamentary duties and are required to certify that this is the case before submitting claims. This includes the cost of a television licence, which can be claimed for their constituency office, from the office costs budget. Under the Scheme, MPs may not claim for the cost of a TV licence at their accommodation.

Please also note that under IPSA rules, MPs are not asked to designate a ‘second home’. In accordance with paragraph 4.6 of the Scheme, MPs may only claim for accommodation costs in relation to one property at a time.  In this regard, non-London MPs may claim for Accommodation Costs which may be either:

1. in the London Area, or

2. within the MP’s constituency, or within 20 miles of any point on the constituency boundary

The information you have requested is available on IPSA’s website.

• At the top of the page, select the financial year you are interested in, and then select ‘individual claims’. Click on Download.

• When you have downloaded the spreadsheet, you should apply filters by clicking on the ‘sort and filter button’ .

• In column G ‘Expense Type’, apply the filter by ‘Television Licence Purchase’.

The FOIA states that information that is accessible by other means is not subject to release. Therefore, as the information you have requested is already available on our website, it is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the FOIA (information accessible to applicant by other means).

This concludes our response to your request.