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, 2024-25

75 claims, £301,690 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.	5	£242,832	80.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	59	£25,378	8.4%
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.	6	£20,194	6.7%
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.	5	£13,286	4.4%

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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£242,802
Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs	4	£29

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£13,860
Pooled staffing services	4	£4,600
Utilities	14	£1,677
Equipment - purchase	2	£1,631
Software & applications	2	£983
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	11	£974

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£19,471
Utilities	5	£723

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	4	£13,282
Subsistence	1	£4

Largest claims, 2024-25

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 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£242,802	£242,802
31 March 2025	Accommodation	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25	£19,471	£19,471
31 March 2025	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25	£13,860	£13,860
31 March 2025	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£7,076	£7,076
31 March 2025	Staff Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£6,084	£6,084
16 September 2024	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£1,456	£1,456
21 March 2025	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£1,150	£1,150
21 March 2025	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£1,150	£1,150
21 March 2025	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£1,150	£1,150
12 April 2024	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£1,150	£1,150
9 July 2024	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£720	£720
7 August 2024	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£600	£600
8 August 2024	Accommodation	Utilities	Water	£485	£485
2 December 2024	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	window graphic design and installation	£480	£480
30 May 2024	Office Costs	Utilities	Gas	£442	£442

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