MPs’ business costs

Chris Evans

IPSA paid £2,777,723 against 1,520 published rows for Chris Evans between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Islwyn CC, then Caerphilly 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, 2016-17

95 claims, £153,794 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	£116,252	75.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	68	£11,184	7.3%
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.	24	£19,836	12.9%
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	£6,521	4.2%

Every year in the register

Chris Evans’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	63	£75,634	£16,524	£12,105	£5,797	—	£110,060
2011-12	100	£106,252	£20,104	£18,681	£7,251	—	£152,288
2012-13	93	£124,211	£20,460	£19,904	£6,739	—	£171,314
2013-14	128	£134,434	£18,818	£20,596	£5,817	£16	£179,681
2014-15	96	£129,997	£12,328	£20,482	£5,790	—	£168,597
2015-16	94	£127,426	£16,948	£21,350	£5,608	—	£171,332
2016-17	95	£116,252	£11,184	£19,836	£6,521	—	£153,794
2017-18	87	£128,824	£12,030	£20,472	£4,501	—	£165,827
2018-19	88	£135,004	£10,168	£21,964	£7,404	—	£174,540
2019-20	105	£148,602	£10,536	£20,156	£6,200	—	£185,494
2020-21	69	£153,874	£9,863	£115	£7,131	—	£170,983
2021-22	100	£168,960	£15,266	£3,965	£9,211	—	£197,401
2022-23	143	£196,373	£17,782	£6,458	£10,317	—	£230,929
2023-24	145	£203,440	£23,222	£16,640	£7,052	£95	£250,449
2024-25	88	£244,432	£16,879	£23,900	£4,692	£111	£290,014
2025-26	26	—	£5,020	—	—	—	£5,020

A year in which Chris Evans 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£116,222
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£30

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	11	£4,902
IT/Other Equipment Hire	18	£1,539
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	8	£1,026
Computer SW Purchase	1	£1,000
Website - Hosting	10	£950
Stationery Purchase	11	£753

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	10	£14,808
Ground Rent	1	£1,524
Council Tax	2	£1,316
Water	2	£790
Service Charges	2	£759
Electricity	6	£341

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,521

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£116,222	£116,222
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£6,521	£6,521
16 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
20 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
18 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
18 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
16 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
16 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
16 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
20 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
16 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,625	£1,625
5 May 2016	Accommodation	Ground Rent	Payment card May 2016	£1,524	£1,524
17 November 2016	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	Payment Card November 2016	£1,000	£1,000
31 March 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	Payment Card April 2017	£697	£697
8 July 2016	Accommodation	Council Tax	Payment Card July 2016	£619	£619

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 Evans 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 Evans’s register of interests and votes · Sources