MPs’ business costs

Chris Bryant

IPSA paid £2,911,335 against 1,779 published rows for Chris Bryant between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Rhondda CC, then Rhondda and Ogmore 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, 2017-18

109 claims, £172,677 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	£131,119	75.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	102	£21,828	12.6%
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.	4	£8,849	5.1%
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	£10,881	6.3%

Every year in the register

Chris Bryant’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	114	£90,223	£11,891	£15,558	£8,208	£1,700	£127,580
2011-12	126	£105,343	£12,447	£19,774	£9,475	—	£147,039
2012-13	112	£119,456	£13,668	£19,915	£10,643	—	£163,682
2013-14	128	£119,773	£15,287	£20,061	£10,823	—	£165,944
2014-15	90	£118,594	£12,853	£20,553	£8,133	—	£160,134
2015-16	116	£134,669	£15,014	£9,862	£9,271	£1,758	£170,574
2016-17	108	£142,720	£18,242	£8,735	£12,174	—	£181,871
2017-18	109	£131,119	£21,828	£8,849	£10,881	—	£172,677
2018-19	92	£139,343	£24,198	£5,150	£12,955	£650	£182,297
2019-20	144	£135,997	£24,849	£5,266	£16,779	—	£182,892
2020-21	96	£172,596	£18,425	£10,409	£4,315	—	£205,746
2021-22	131	£177,519	£21,720	£6,390	£10,157	—	£215,786
2022-23	136	£223,681	£17,185	—	£12,377	—	£253,242
2023-24	144	£229,252	£30,776	£6,329	£19,169	—	£285,526
2024-25	88	£238,344	£21,255	£6,630	£10,893	—	£277,121
2025-26	45	£1,950	£10,403	£6,870	—	—	£19,223

A year in which Chris Bryant 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£126,319
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	2	£4,125
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	21	£4,048
Stationery Purchase	7	£3,905
Advertising	8	£1,665
Const Office Gas	2	£1,488
Computer SW Purchase	1	£850

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	2	£6,490
Council Tax	1	£2,047
Water	1	£312

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£10,881

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£126,319	£126,319
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£10,881	£10,881
28 April 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
26 September 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	service charge	£3,338	£3,338
5 April 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	service charge	£3,152	£3,152
18 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent and Utilities	£2,750	£2,750
14 February 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£2,248	£2,248
17 April 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	April Return	£2,047	£2,047
15 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent /Utilities Mar 18	£1,375	£1,375
10 August 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£1,346	£1,346
15 August 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	August Return	£850	£850
15 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Gas	Office Rent /Utilities Mar 18	£805	£805
18 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Gas	Office Rent and Utilities	£683	£683
5 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	December Claim	£621	£621
14 June 2017	Office Costs	Security	Security System	£576	£576

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 Chris Bryant 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 · Chris Bryant’s register of interests and votes · Sources