MPs’ business costs

Dame Caroline Dinenage

IPSA paid £2,598,090 against 2,292 published rows for Dame Caroline Dinenage between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Gosport 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

162 claims, £130,052 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.	31	£97,477	75.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	111	£13,209	10.2%
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.	18	£14,250	11.0%
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	£4,881	3.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£234	0.2%

Every year in the register

Dame Caroline Dinenage’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	129	£66,186	£9,925	£11,080	£5,169	—	£92,360
2011-12	236	£93,393	£14,913	£20,433	£5,033	£21	£133,794
2012-13	239	£104,070	£13,472	£19,436	£5,084	—	£142,061
2013-14	162	£97,477	£13,209	£14,250	£4,881	£234	£130,052
2014-15	123	£114,981	£12,765	£9,948	£4,586	—	£142,279
2015-16	115	£114,463	£17,444	£9,932	£3,953	—	£145,790
2016-17	134	£105,325	£15,035	£16,313	£5,822	—	£142,494
2017-18	111	£106,398	£20,647	£16,757	£4,808	—	£148,610
2018-19	135	£124,145	£20,317	£15,315	£4,893	—	£164,669
2019-20	120	£142,588	£21,330	£15,750	£4,293	—	£183,961
2020-21	144	£135,617	£29,367	£32,503	£1,363	—	£198,849
2021-22	120	£143,845	£18,073	£32,116	£4,262	—	£198,297
2022-23	150	£174,996	£19,813	£16,654	£3,688	—	£215,152
2023-24	153	£202,707	£25,643	£18,546	£4,842	—	£251,738
2024-25	150	£219,836	£29,870	£31,978	£4,044	—	£285,728
2025-26	71	—	£20,568	£1,688	—	—	£22,255

A year in which Dame Caroline Dinenage 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	£93,322
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£3,960
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	8	£80
Own Vehicle Car Int/Volntr	13	£64
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG	1	£33
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	6	£15

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£5,822
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	21	£2,167
Stationery Purchase	33	£2,093
Advertising	2	£1,267
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£578
Postage Purchase	10	£361

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£13,921
Electricity	4	£281
Television Licence	1	£49

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£4,881

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Contingency	1	£234

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	£93,322	£93,322
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£4,881	£4,881
5 June 2013	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU subscription	£3,960	£3,960
24 April 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,651	£1,651
1 April 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,651	£1,651
24 May 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Change payment card year	£1,484	£1,484
25 February 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,083	£1,083
24 January 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
19 December 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
25 November 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
24 October 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
24 September 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
27 August 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
24 July 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,047	£1,047
30 November 2013	Office Costs	Advertising	Advertising MP's Surgery	£904	£904

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 Dame Caroline Dinenage 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 · Dame Caroline Dinenage’s register of interests and votes · Sources