MPs’ business costs

Sir Christopher Chope

IPSA paid £2,189,430 against 1,597 published rows for Sir Christopher Chope between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Christchurch 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, 2014-15

100 claims, £111,750 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	£83,169	74.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	57	£15,364	13.7%
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.	40	£4,589	4.1%
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	£8,629	7.7%

Every year in the register

Sir Christopher Chope’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	58	£64,111	£9,095	£5,046	£5,987	—	£84,239
2011-12	85	£74,664	£16,936	£3,857	£7,244	—	£102,701
2012-13	103	£77,514	£16,316	£2,522	£6,641	—	£102,993
2013-14	127	£77,331	£16,732	£6,316	£6,897	—	£107,276
2014-15	100	£83,169	£15,364	£4,589	£8,629	—	£111,750
2015-16	80	£90,600	£11,849	£4,680	£7,015	—	£114,144
2016-17	103	£93,210	£22,326	£8,165	£7,778	£216	£131,695
2017-18	104	£93,883	£19,942	£5,963	£5,421	—	£125,208
2018-19	109	£100,196	£18,219	£5,107	£8,150	—	£131,672
2019-20	134	£106,456	£21,842	£5,281	£4,949	—	£138,528
2020-21	106	£108,218	£23,727	£3,431	£4,031	—	£139,406
2021-22	110	£130,378	£18,502	£2,653	£2,664	—	£154,197
2022-23	82	£200,825	£18,309	£4,263	£4,418	—	£227,814
2023-24	128	£209,192	£32,040	£6,717	£5,526	—	£253,475
2024-25	95	£219,334	£21,152	£3,198	£5,556	—	£249,241
2025-26	73	—	£9,552	£5,539	—	—	£15,091

A year in which Sir Christopher Chope 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, 2014-15

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£81,169
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,000

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Professional Services	8	£10,392
Stationery Purchase	24	£2,307
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	9	£1,174
Other	12	£884
Other Equip Purchase	2	£554
Postage Purchase	2	£53

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	1	£1,768
Gas	11	£1,135
Telephone Usage/Rental	12	£645
Buildings Insurance	12	£534
Electricity	4	£506

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£8,629

Largest claims, 2014-15

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 2015	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2014-15 year	£81,169	£81,169
31 March 2015	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2014-15	£8,629	£8,629
1 April 2014	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	ERG subscription	£2,000	£2,000
22 April 2014	Accommodation	Council Tax	council tax	£1,768	£1,768
28 March 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	[***]	£1,395	£1,395
9 January 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	[***]	£1,395	£1,395
30 June 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	[***]	£1,395	£1,395
9 January 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	office services	£1,344	£1,344
30 September 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	office services	£1,248	£1,248
30 June 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	office services	£1,248	£1,248
30 September 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	[***]	£1,215	£1,215
28 March 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	office services	£1,152	£1,152
11 March 2015	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printer cartridges	£612	£612
26 September 2014	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	ipad purchase	£479	£479
10 March 2015	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	misc stationery	£308	£308

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 Sir Christopher Chope 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 · Sir Christopher Chope’s register of interests and votes · Sources