MPs’ business costs

Catherine McKinnell

IPSA paid £3,033,809 against 2,598 published rows for Catherine McKinnell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Newcastle upon Tyne North 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, 2011-12

389 claims, £178,539 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.	224	£122,038	68.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	129	£23,811	13.3%
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.	35	£22,144	12.4%
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	£10,548	5.9%

Every year in the register

Catherine McKinnell’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	215	£93,449	£19,634	£22,080	£10,117	—	£145,280
2011-12	389	£122,038	£23,811	£22,144	£10,548	—	£178,539
2012-13	281	£122,037	£19,004	£22,663	£9,269	—	£172,973
2013-14	200	£116,156	£18,390	£22,908	£8,999	—	£166,453
2014-15	171	£113,197	£15,008	£23,157	£7,366	—	£158,728
2015-16	148	£122,408	£17,425	£24,748	£7,917	—	£172,498
2016-17	153	£127,455	£13,329	£26,351	£7,105	—	£174,240
2017-18	135	£131,550	£15,200	£25,813	£6,675	£76	£179,314
2018-19	122	£135,025	£13,994	£26,426	£11,684	—	£187,129
2019-20	143	£140,445	£15,142	£23,926	£8,751	—	£188,264
2020-21	117	£163,506	£21,109	£27,725	£3,093	—	£215,433
2021-22	86	£183,097	£26,820	£22,773	£6,165	£31	£238,885
2022-23	144	£184,785	£30,495	£40,301	£9,920	—	£265,500
2023-24	134	£198,335	£28,317	£23,301	£11,474	—	£261,427
2024-25	128	£235,221	£38,986	£22,551	£15,138	£520	£312,417
2025-26	32	£3,154	£11,177	£2,398	—	—	£16,729

A year in which Catherine McKinnell 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£109,238
Professional Services (Staff.)	4	£6,823
Pooled Staffing Services	3	£4,800
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	80	£701
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	72	£179
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	52	£119

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£8,790
Telephone/Mobile Purchase	2	£3,376
Stationery Purchase	26	£2,786
Legal Expenses Insurance	2	£2,636
Mobile Usage/Rental	20	£1,360
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	13	£1,094

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£20,107
Council Tax	1	£516
Gas	4	£468
Water	1	£391
Interim Hotel NOT London Ar	1	£195
Telephone Usage/Rental	12	£170

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£10,548

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£109,238	£109,238
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£10,548	£10,548
26 March 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	North East Apprenticeship Cpny	£4,871	£4,871
2 November 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	Parliamentary Research Service	£2,400	£2,400
28 June 2011	Office Costs	Telephone/Mobile Purchase	BTL Comms - Lemington C	£2,170	£2,170
27 January 2012	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	Insurance	£2,000	£2,000
10 March 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,755	£1,755
10 February 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
13 January 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
10 December 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
10 November 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
10 October 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
10 September 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
10 August 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
12 July 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668

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 Catherine McKinnell 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 · Catherine McKinnell’s register of interests and votes · Sources