IPSA publishes the latest data on MPs' business costs

Date published: 12 September 2024

IPSA has today published details of spending by MPs against their parliamentary budgets, processed by IPSA in the period from 1 February to 31 May 2024. This is the first data publication by the regulator following the announcement of the General Election. 

MPs are elected to represent the interests and concerns of their constituents. IPSA supports MPs to fulfil their roles by providing the necessary funding to run an office, pay their staff, and cover work-related travel. 

Lee Bridges, Director of Policy and Engagement, said: 

“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." 

"The data shows that up to 80% of MPs' business costs are allocated to essential activities that support their parliamentary duties, such as running an office, paying staff, and travelling for work." 

Ends

For more information contact the IPSA press office on 07792 242736 or email communications@theipsa.org.uk.

Notes to editors

  1. You can find the data IPSA has published today by downloading the Individual business costs data 2024-2025 spreadsheet on this page of our website under the Individual business costs heading. You can also view claims relating to an individual MP by searching their name or constituency on our website.

  2. 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 2022-2023, shows that almost 80% of MPs’ business costs go toward paying their staff.

  3. 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.

  4. Following advice from security specialists, IPSA is no longer publishing 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 its annual publication.

  5. 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

  6. IPSA is independent of Parliament and the Government. This allows it to make decisions about the rules on business costs and on MPs’ pay ourselves, without interference. You can find out more about IPSA's role and responsibilities on our website.

  7. 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.

  8. 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, and

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