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, 2023-24

145 claims, £250,449 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.	1	£203,440	81.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	101	£23,222	9.3%
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.	29	£16,640	6.6%
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	£7,052	2.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£95	0.0%

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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£203,440

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	12	£5,348
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,500
Equipment - purchase	4	£4,438
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	22	£3,490
Equipment - hire	18	£1,644
Website hosting and design	14	£1,296

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Hotel - London	27	£9,165
Rent	2	£7,475

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	5	£3,577
Mileage - car	2	£2,175
Hotel - London	2	£770
Congestion charge & toll	1	£420
Parking	2	£106
Other public transport	1	£4

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£95

Largest claims, 2023-24

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 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£203,440	£203,440
25 January 2024	Accommodation	Rent	[*] - Chris Evans - Rent payments for 18/1/2024 to 17/3/2024 totalling £4,983.34 to Supplier [*]	£4,983	£4,983
28 April 2023	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,500	£4,500
19 March 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,492	£2,492
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£2,176	£2,176
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£2,107	£2,107
25 September 2023	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£1,771	£1,771
31 March 2024	Staff Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£1,250	£1,250
22 May 2023	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£1,206	£1,206
31 March 2023	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£992	£992
29 November 2023	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£690	£690
11 December 2023	Accommodation	Hotel - London	[*][][**]	£600	£600
12 June 2023	Accommodation	Hotel - London	[*][][**]	£570	£570
22 May 2023	Accommodation	Hotel - London	[*][][**]	£570	£570
30 March 2023	Accommodation	Hotel - London	[*][][**]	£570	£570

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