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, 2025-26

32 claims, £16,729 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	£3,154	18.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	23	£11,177	66.8%
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.	7	£2,398	14.3%

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, 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Training - staff	2	£3,154

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Bought-in services	5	£4,680
Software & applications	3	£2,255
Stationery & printing	7	£1,700
Training - MP	1	£1,050
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	1	£800
Website hosting and design	1	£240

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	3	£2,034
Utilities	4	£363

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
6 January 2026	Staffing	Training - staff	Staff training	£2,050	£2,050
6 November 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£1,560	£1,560
22 July 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£1,560	£1,560
15 February 2026	Office Costs	Software & applications	Elected technologies	£1,476	£1,476
17 May 2025	Staffing	Training - staff	Staff training	£1,104	£1,104
21 October 2025	Office Costs	Training - MP	Training - MP	£1,050	£1,050
25 March 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	Council Tax [200011782-492]	£1,017	£1,017
6 March 2026	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Minor office works	£800	£800
15 February 2025	Office Costs	Software & applications	Elected technologies [200011782-495]	£659	£659
3 January 2026	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£520	£520
3 December 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£520	£520
3 May 2025	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£520	£520
11 February 2026	Accommodation	Council tax	WWW.WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK	£509	£509
21 January 2026	Accommodation	Council tax	WWW.WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK	£508	£508
30 July 2025	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	WWW.TONERGIANT.CO.UK	£344	£344

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