MPs’ business costs

Chris Elmore

IPSA paid £2,301,318 against 2,268 published rows for Chris Elmore between 2016-17 and 2025-26 as the member for Ogmore CC, then Bridgend 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, 2018-19

224 claims, £214,744 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.	6	£153,267	71.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	196	£23,875	11.1%
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.	21	£22,208	10.3%
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	£15,393	7.2%

Every year in the register

Chris Elmore’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2016-17 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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2016-17	179	£128,392	£20,244	£15,119	£12,961	£5,993	—	£182,709
2017-18	142	£143,339	£22,798	£19,738	£11,773	—	—	£197,648
2018-19	224	£153,267	£23,875	£22,208	£15,393	—	—	£214,744
2019-20	287	£155,811	£25,515	£22,003	£14,365	—	—	£217,693
2020-21	187	£192,783	£25,545	£24,271	£7,086	—	—	£249,685
2021-22	347	£202,046	£26,666	£30,289	£15,048	—	—	£274,049
2022-23	365	£208,374	£24,725	£30,596	£26,368	—	£278	£290,341
2023-24	294	£237,668	£31,124	£31,617	£22,703	—	—	£323,113
2024-25	201	£249,427	£34,462	£32,242	£26,673	—	£400	£343,205
2025-26	42	—	£6,323	£1,556	—	—	£253	£8,131

A year in which Chris Elmore 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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£143,692
Professional Services (Staff.)	3	£9,375
Staff Training Costs	1	£175
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£25

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£5,500
Professional Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	23	£3,436
Stationery Purchase	17	£1,636
Const Office Cleaning	35	£1,610
IT/Other Equipment Hire	5	£1,060

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£20,800
Council Tax	1	£711
Water	1	£309
Gas	3	£233
Electricity	3	£156

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£15,393

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£143,692	£143,692
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£15,393	£15,393
1 April 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
4 February 2019	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Consultancy work	£4,650	£4,650
29 August 2018	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Consultancy work	£3,150	£3,150
7 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
19 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
29 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
31 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
3 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
31 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
1 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
4 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
5 June 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733
3 May 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,733	£1,733

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 Elmore 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 Elmore’s register of interests and votes · Sources