IPSA publishes data on MPs’ business costs for August and September 2024

Date published: 23 January 2025

IPSA has published details of spending by MPs against their parliamentary budgets, processed by IPSA in the period between 01 August and 30 September 2024.

This includes the reimbursement of costs incurred by current MPs, and those who left office at the 2024 General Election

The data is searchable by MP name and in full under the Individual Business Costs tab on our dedicated webpage.

IPSA is proud to support MPs in fulfilling their duty to their constituents and to Westminster by providing the necessary funding to run an office, pay staff and cover work-related travel.

Lee Bridges, Director of Policy and Engagement at IPSA, says:

“As part of our role as an independent regulator and our commitment to supporting trust in democracy, we publish these costs to provide the public with transparency on how their money is spent.”

“Today’s data also includes costs incurred by MPs who lost their seats at the 2024 General Election, for the work required in closing down constituency offices and parliamentary affairs.

“Our recently-published Facilitating Democracy guide shines further light on the human impact of last year’s General Election, and IPSA’s role in supporting the transition of power.”

ENDS

For more details contact IPSA's Press Office.

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Notes to editors

1. When a General Election is over, former MPs may be eligible for two different types of payment: the loss-of-office payment (LOOP) and winding-up payment. There are also winding-up costs, which are inevitable in the transition between MPs, and there are separate criteria for each of these.

  • Former MPs are eligible to receive a loss-of-office payment (LOOP) if they were an MP on the day before the dissolution of Parliament and a candidate for re-election but were not re-elected. They must also have held office for a continuous period of two years before then. The amount of the loss-of-office payment is equal to double the statutory redundancy entitlement. These payments will be published in our annual publication in November 2025.

  • Former MPs receive a winding-up payment if they leave Parliament at a general election, regardless of whether they stand unsuccessfully or stand down. A winding-up payment is of a value equivalent to four months’ salary after the deduction of tax and National Insurance. This is to compensate for the work former MPs are required to do in closing down their parliamentary affairs. These payments will be published in our annual publication in November 2025.

  • Departing MPs are given four months to wind-up their constituency office and parliamentary affairs. During this four-month period they can continue to be reimbursed for costs incurred during the closure of their office. These payments could cover staff salaries, outstanding rental fees, removals and cleaning.

2. IPSA publishes details of MPs’ staffing and business costs every two months, including claims processed across a two-month period – usually four to five months in arrears from the publication date. The next scheduled publication is in March.

3. Today's data cannot point to a trend or a pattern, as costs for MPs vary month by month. IPSA's annual publication covering business costs submitted by MPs in 2023-2024 shows around 80% of MPs’ business costs go toward paying their staff.

4. MPs’ constituencies have a range of different characteristics, for example size, population, urban or rural landscape, and distance from Westminster, which makes comparisons between the data for each MP difficult.

5. Following advice from security specialists, IPSA no longer publishes data relating to travel costs on a bi-monthly basis. Instead, this will be published as an aggregated cost for each MP as part of our annual publication.

6. IPSA was created in 2009 by the Parliamentary Standards Act. The Act was amended in 2010 by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act. Together they gave IPSA three main responsibilities:

  • to regulate MPs’ business costs;

  • to determine MPs’ pay and pension arrangements;

  • to provide financial support to MPs in carrying out their parliamentary functions.

7. IPSA is independent of Parliament and the Government. This allows us to make decisions about the rules on business costs and on MPs’ pay ourselves, without interference. Find out more about IPSA's role and responsibilities.

8. The Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs (‘the Scheme’) governs what MPs can and cannot claim. We review our rules regularly and consult the public when we do so.

9. Repayments are made to IPSA by MPs and third parties for a variety of reasons. These include:

  • refunding items for which an MP no longer wishes to claim;

  • refunding payment card transactions for which an MP does not wish to claim;

  • where an MP has received a rebate or refund from a third party, for example on their business rates or utility bills.