MPs’ business costs

Alison McGovern

IPSA paid £2,996,340 against 2,113 published rows for Alison McGovern between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Wirral South CC, then Birkenhead 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, 2012-13

195 claims, £193,340 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The 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.	19	£136,094	70.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	155	£21,195	11.0%
Accommodation	The 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.	20	£23,651	12.2%
Travel	Journeys 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	£12,401	6.4%

Every year in the register

Alison McGovern’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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	152	£82,357	£17,285	£7,730	£4,295	£19	£111,686
2011-12	255	£115,281	£21,517	£10,360	£8,050	—	£155,208
2012-13	195	£136,094	£21,195	£23,651	£12,401	—	£193,340
2013-14	182	£134,551	£14,845	£22,763	£11,003	—	£183,163
2014-15	179	£123,108	£15,330	£22,142	£9,003	—	£169,583
2015-16	147	£139,404	£17,111	£19,257	£8,856	—	£184,627
2016-17	136	£131,039	£16,240	£17,153	£13,367	—	£177,798
2017-18	137	£147,496	£15,463	£16,431	£8,265	—	£187,655
2018-19	139	£128,083	£15,557	£19,187	£13,816	—	£176,642
2019-20	141	£95,441	£17,514	£17,683	£15,164	—	£145,802
2020-21	75	£180,184	£17,085	£17,995	£7,652	—	£222,916
2021-22	72	£187,481	£21,112	£20,214	£9,486	—	£238,293
2022-23	113	£204,033	£27,256	£18,050	£15,111	—	£264,449
2023-24	99	£225,732	£21,703	£18,699	£12,780	—	£278,914
2024-25	75	£242,832	£25,378	£20,194	£13,286	—	£301,690
2025-26	16	—	£3,978	£597	—	—	£4,575

A year in which Alison McGovern 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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£135,589
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	16	£441
Health and Welfare Costs	2	£64

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	14	£6,500
Legal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.	2	£2,520
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	19	£2,381
IT/Other Equipment Hire	5	£2,063
Install/Maint Office Equip.	22	£1,657
Const Office Electricity	3	£1,499

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£20,744
Council Tax	2	£1,399
Electricity	1	£749
Home Contents Insurance	1	£290
Budget Repayment (Accomm.)	1	£238
Television Licence	1	£146

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,401

Largest claims, 2012-13

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£135,589	£135,589
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£12,401	£12,401
25 March 2013	Office Costs	Legal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.	Rent lease water phone insuran	£1,800	£1,800
28 February 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
31 January 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
29 December 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
29 November 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
29 October 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
26 September 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
27 August 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
27 July 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
29 June 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
29 May 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
30 April 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700
7 April 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,700	£1,700

Claims refused and money repaid, 2012-13

4 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £146 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Alison McGovern 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 · Alison McGovern’s register of interests and votes · Sources