Information on increase in rental payments for Grant Shapps MP

Chapter 6 of The Scheme of MPs' Staffing and Business Costs (the Scheme) explains the use of the "office costs" budget to meet the costs of renting, equipping and running MPs' constituency offices, surgeries, and other activities which support their parliamentary functions. With regards to rental agreements the following points of the Scheme are worth highlighting,

6.15 MPs are responsible for checking the terms and condition of their rental agreements, including any service charges, penalty clauses and other clauses, which may otherwise lead to unexpected costs. They should check their liability for business rates on the premises before signing the contract.

6.16 MPs must inform IPSA immediately when a rental agreement commences, ends, or is renewed, or if there are changes to the contract, such as the rental charge or the landlord's payment details.

In addition the Scheme makes reference to direct payments,

1.3 For certain expenditure, MPs may claim payment in advance on production of an invoice or may request IPSA to make payments directly to a supplier. MPs may also use the payment card provided by IPSA.

To answer your questions, all the claims listed above are direct payments made by IPSA for rent for the MP's constituency office. The original rental agreement was signed before 2010 and expired in May 2023 when a new agreement needed to be arranged. The landlord advised the MP that there had been significant renovations and work done at the property and that they required a new valuation. This was carried out and subsequently an increase in the rent, which is paid annually, was agreed; the MP submitted the required documentation to IPSA.

I hope this information is helpful.