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, 2019-20

143 claims, £188,264 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.	2	£140,445	74.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	98	£15,142	8.0%
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.	30	£23,926	12.7%
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.	13	£8,751	4.6%

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, 2019-20

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£140,295
Bought-in services	1	£150

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	13	£7,039
Stationery & printing	38	£2,681
Equipment - hire	16	£2,667
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	12	£916
Bought-in services	1	£600
Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection	2	£431

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	13	£23,000
Utilities	6	£706
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	11	£220

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	4	£7,957
Hotel - London	1	£350
Other public transport	4	£170
Taxi	2	£115
Railcard	1	£90
Hotel - UK Not London	1	£69

Largest claims, 2019-20

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 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£140,295	£140,295
31 March 2020	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2019-20	£6,988	£6,988
18 March 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,100	£2,100
19 February 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,100	£2,100
15 January 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,100	£2,100
20 December 2019	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,100	£2,100
15 November 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,100	£2,100
17 October 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,100	£2,100
18 September 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,100	£2,100
16 August 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,100	£2,100
17 July 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,100	£2,100
19 June 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,050	£2,050
17 May 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,050	£2,050
31 March 2020	Staff Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2019-20	£667	£667
4 April 2019	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£600	£600

Claims refused and money repaid, 2019-20

3 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £588 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 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