MPs’ business costs

Bridget Phillipson

IPSA paid £3,061,415 against 3,344 published rows for Bridget Phillipson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Houghton and Sunderland South BC, then Houghton and Sunderland South 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, 2025-26

116 claims, £34,472 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.	13	£8,500	24.7%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	83	£20,004	58.0%
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	£5,968	17.3%

Every year in the register

Bridget Phillipson’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	156	£77,554	£16,434	£19,551	£8,196	£1,769	£123,505
2011-12	192	£112,831	£22,202	£22,281	£8,969	—	£166,284
2012-13	203	£124,309	£19,386	£22,700	£7,447	—	£173,842
2013-14	222	£126,617	£18,086	£22,440	£7,446	—	£174,588
2014-15	218	£127,551	£17,584	£22,991	£8,296	—	£176,423
2015-16	198	£133,161	£23,196	£23,643	£6,364	£2,360	£188,724
2016-17	229	£137,659	£22,064	£8,859	£9,256	£1,289	£179,128
2017-18	198	£142,615	£21,834	£3,992	£7,269	—	£175,710
2018-19	234	£143,468	£24,658	£4,231	£9,783	—	£182,140
2019-20	244	£159,005	£26,769	£3,794	£12,917	—	£202,484
2020-21	218	£193,835	£31,664	£4,418	£1,682	—	£231,599
2021-22	206	£183,119	£28,017	£4,311	£7,760	£1,950	£225,158
2022-23	262	£222,497	£28,620	£5,916	£10,776	—	£267,809
2023-24	238	£235,591	£29,351	£6,330	£10,630	—	£281,902
2024-25	210	£234,592	£27,898	£6,622	£8,534	—	£277,646
2025-26	116	£8,500	£20,004	£5,968	—	—	£34,472

A year in which Bridget Phillipson 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, 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Bought-in services	13	£8,500

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Bought-in services	12	£8,350
Stationery & printing	34	£6,615
Postage & couriers	12	£1,511
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	8	£878
Software & applications	2	£834
Venue hire, meetings & surgeries	5	£605

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	1	£2,645
Utilities	16	£2,368
Insurance - buildings	1	£787
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	2	£168

Largest claims, 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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
14 April 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	LONDON BOROUGH OF ENFI	£2,645	£2,645
9 February 2026	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£950	£950
10 May 2025	Accommodation	Insurance - buildings	Insurance	£787	£787
25 June 2025	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£738	£738
28 February 2026	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675
31 January 2026	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£675	£675
31 December 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£675	£675
30 November 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£675	£675
31 October 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£675	£675
30 September 2025	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675
31 August 2025	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675
31 July 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675
30 June 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675
31 May 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£675	£675
30 April 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£675	£675

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 Bridget Phillipson 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 · Bridget Phillipson’s register of interests and votes · Sources