MPs’ business costs

Baggy Shanker

IPSA paid £205,221 against 96 published rows for Baggy Shanker between 2024-25 and 2025-26 as the member for Derby South 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 to 2025-26

96 claims, £205,221 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£144,37270.3%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.66£30,84315.0%
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.15£19,0219.3%
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.10£8,3904.1%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£2,5961.3%

Every year in the register

Baggy Shanker’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2024-25 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
2024-2578£144,372£27,178£18,560£8,390£198,500
2025-2618£3,665£461£2,596£6,722

A year in which Baggy Shanker 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 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£135,372
Bought-in services2£9,000

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent9£16,450
Stationery & printing32£4,912
Software & applications3£3,516
Pooled staffing services1£3,000
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage5£1,196
Equipment - purchase3£477

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent7£15,803
Hotel - London7£2,757
Council tax1£461

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail5£7,202
Hotel - London2£810
Mileage - car1£238
Hotel - UK Not London1£118
Subsistence1£22

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Bought-in services2£2,596

Largest claims, 2024-25 to 2025-26

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 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£135,372£135,372
31 January 2025StaffingBought-in servicesAdministrative services£5,000£5,000
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£4,483£4,483
24 March 2025StaffingBought-in servicesAdministrative services£4,000£4,000
6 September 2024Office CostsRent[***] - First month´s rent -£3,910£3,910
3 October 2024Office CostsPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£3,000£3,000
1 March 2025AccommodationRentRent payment for London property£2,400£2,400
15 January 2025AccommodationRentFebruary rental payment£2,400£2,400
1 January 2025AccommodationRentRental payment for Jan£2,400£2,400
18 November 2024AccommodationRentDecember rental payment£2,400£2,400
15 October 2024AccommodationRentNovember rental payment£2,400£2,400
1 April 2025AccommodationRentApril rent [200011804-55]£2,100£2,100
1 April 2025Office CostsRent£2,090£2,090
4 March 2025Office CostsRent£2,090£2,090
4 February 2025Office CostsRent£2,090£2,090

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 Baggy Shanker 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 · Baggy Shanker’s register of interests and votes · Sources