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, 2013-14

182 claims, £183,163 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.	3	£134,551	73.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	156	£14,845	8.1%
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.	22	£22,763	12.4%
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	£11,003	6.0%

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, 2013-14

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£134,388
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	2	£163

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	19	£6,000
IT/Other Equipment Hire	5	£1,805
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	13	£1,258
Const Office Electricity	11	£926
Security	4	£762
Install/Maint Office Equip.	29	£694

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£21,000
Council Tax	1	£1,215
Electricity	4	£481
Home Contents Insurance	1	£281
Water	2	£171
Television Licence	1	£146

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£11,003

Largest claims, 2013-14

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 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£134,388	£134,388
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£11,003	£11,003
25 February 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
24 January 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
19 December 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
25 November 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
24 October 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
24 September 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
27 August 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
24 July 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
24 June 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
29 May 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
29 April 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
2 April 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,750	£1,750
19 April 2013	Accommodation	Council Tax	Payment Card April 2013	£1,215	£1,215

Claims refused and money repaid, 2013-14

8 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £95 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