MPs’ business costs

Sir Alan Campbell

IPSA paid £2,428,632 against 2,207 published rows for Sir Alan Campbell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Tynemouth BC. 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, 2014-15

141 claims, £132,768 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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.3£91,35068.8%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.111£20,90915.7%
AccommodationThe 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.26£5,4704.1%
TravelJourneys 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£15,03911.3%

Every year in the register

Sir Alan Campbell’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1191£64,139£14,001£4,386£9,819£92,345
2011-12129£80,252£19,660£4,799£13,516£218£118,446
2012-13135£78,130£22,130£5,015£12,944£118,219
2013-14141£82,529£23,327£5,104£13,548£124,508
2014-15141£91,350£20,909£5,470£15,039£132,768
2015-16141£104,926£22,162£5,157£16,189£148,433
2016-17161£107,238£22,505£3,899£15,462£149,104
2017-18137£113,864£19,177£7,247£7,363£147,651
2018-19160£133,437£22,398£5,089£11,809£172,733
2019-20160£135,795£21,178£4,424£11,921£173,319
2020-21135£154,524£17,999£5,410£6,384£184,316
2021-22138£158,711£20,275£5,480£7,217£191,682
2022-23163£169,014£21,950£5,957£10,198£207,118
2023-24160£172,423£22,222£6,330£12,457£220£213,653
2024-25145£184,079£25,111£14,204£6,855£230,249
2025-2670£21,236£2,851£24,087

A year in which Sir Alan Campbell 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, 2014-15

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£85,973
Pooled Services: Direct1£4,800
Practice Liability Insurance1£578

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent12£8,000
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental16£2,435
IT/Other Equipment Hire13£2,180
Stationery Purchase7£1,941
Const Office Electricity12£1,608
Const Office cleaning11£1,005

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Service Charges2£2,790
Council Tax10£1,496
Electricity12£668
Buildings Insurance1£416
Ground Rent1£100

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£15,039

Largest claims, 2014-15

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£85,973£85,973
31 March 2015TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2014-15£15,039£15,039
9 June 2014StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRS subscription£4,800£4,800
12 December 2014AccommodationService ChargesHML Scotts£1,409£1,409
1 July 2014AccommodationService ChargesHML Scott - Service Charge£1,381£1,381
20 March 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseAlexanders£941£941
5 September 2014Office CostsIT/Other Equipment HireEE. MMCS.BT.Alex.£693£693
27 February 2015Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
28 January 2015Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
26 December 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
26 November 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
27 October 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
26 September 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
27 August 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667
24 July 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£667£667

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 Sir Alan Campbell 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 · Sir Alan Campbell’s register of interests and votes · Sources