MPs’ business costs

Andy Burnham

IPSA paid £1,289,952 against 2,082 published rows for Andy Burnham between 2010-11 and 2017-18 as the member for Leigh CC. 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, 2010-11 to 2017-18

2,082 claims, £1,289,952 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.748£914,89970.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.1,093£143,67611.1%
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.210£121,9529.5%
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.8£41,1723.2%
Starting up and winding upThe one-off costs of opening an office on election and of closing one on leaving. These fall in the years around a general election and are absent from the rest.18£67,0795.2%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.5£1,1730.1%

Every year in the register

Andy Burnham’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2017-18. 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 costsAccommodationTravelStarting up and winding upMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11148£101,345£11,324£10,770£5,731£129,170
2011-12324£112,906£14,443£14,929£6,317£148,595
2012-13444£134,288£20,982£17,564£6,163£178,997
2013-14509£134,129£22,371£19,283£5,263£181,046
2014-15336£138,892£22,755£18,425£5,583£185,655
2015-16156£144,229£26,813£18,966£5,106£195,114
2016-17129£138,397£21,524£19,999£6,491£186,411
2017-1836£10,713£3,465£2,015£519£67,079£1,173£84,964

A year in which Andy Burnham 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, 2010-11 to 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll8£907,516
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr108£1,207
Food & Drink Int/Volntr217£1,168
Public Tr UND Volunteer25£1,123
Public Tr RAIL Int/Volntr - RT51£891
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr32£887

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent14£42,542
Professional Services84£24,403
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental168£15,718
Stationery Purchase219£13,103
Business Rates11£12,372
Const Office Electricity30£7,334

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accommodation Rent64£85,784
Mortgage Interest24£18,952
Council Tax60£7,375
Service Charges11£4,344
Electricity17£2,449
Water22£1,748

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs8£41,172

Starting up and winding up

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Staff Costs - Routine1£36,032
Payroll1£25,130
Const Off Tel.Usg/Rnt Wind.Up2£2,047
Home Removal Costs1£1,541
Office Removals1£792
Office Rent2£552

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accom Rent (Wind. Up)1£698
Council Tax (Wind. Up)1£237
Accom Electricity (Wind. Up)2£130
Accom Water (Wind. Up)1£108

Largest claims, 2010-11 to 2017-18

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 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£144,154£144,154
31 March 2017StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year£138,397£138,397
31 March 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£138,029£138,029
31 March 2014StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2013-14 year£132,206£132,206
31 March 2013StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2012-13 year£131,421£131,421
31 March 2012StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2011-12 year£111,525£111,525
31 March 2011StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2010-11 year£101,071£101,071
31 May 2017Winding UpStaff Costs - RoutineRedundancy costs£36,032£36,032
31 March 2018Winding UpPayrollTotal Winding Up budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£25,130£25,130
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£10,713£10,713
31 March 2017TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2016-17£6,491£6,491
31 March 2012TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2011-12£6,317£6,317
31 March 2013TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2012-13£6,163£6,163
31 March 2011TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2010-11£5,731£5,731
31 March 2015TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2014-15£5,583£5,583

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11 to 2017-18

9 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £13,768 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 Andy Burnham 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 · Andy Burnham’s register of interests and votes · Sources