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, 2017-18

104 claims, £125,208 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	£93,883	75.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	78	£19,942	15.9%
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.	23	£5,963	4.8%
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	£5,421	4.3%

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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£87,883
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£6,000

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	4	£8,750
Stationery Purchase	16	£3,621
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	13	£1,589
Professional Services	2	£1,152
Computer SW Purchase	1	£900
Computer HW Purchase	2	£635

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	1	£2,408
Gas	4	£1,074
Other Fuel	2	£1,071
Water	2	£572
Electricity	10	£558
Internet	3	£396

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£5,421

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	£87,883	£87,883
12 June 2017	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	placement fee	£6,000	£6,000
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£5,421	£5,421
19 March 2018	Accommodation	Council Tax	council tax	£2,408	£2,408
19 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	rent for 37 Bargates	£2,250	£2,250
21 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	rent for [***]	£2,250	£2,250
13 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	rent for 37 Bargates	£2,250	£2,250
30 June 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	rent for 37 Bargates	£2,000	£2,000
30 June 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
6 November 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printer cartridges	£847	£847
21 July 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printer cartridges	£762	£762
1 May 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services	office services	£640	£640
24 January 2018	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Laptop computer	£623	£623
24 January 2018	Accommodation	Other Fuel	fuel oil	£572	£572
1 May 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	printer cartridges	£559	£559

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