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, 2023-24

128 claims, £253,475 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.	14	£209,192	82.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	99	£32,040	12.6%
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.	10	£6,717	2.7%
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.	5	£5,526	2.2%

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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£202,692
Bought-in services	13	£6,500

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	5	£11,250
Stationery & printing	36	£9,300
Utilities	25	£6,784
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	13	£2,239
Newspapers, journals, magazines	5	£1,213
Postage & couriers	7	£657

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	2	£4,546
Utilities	7	£1,929
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	1	£242

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mileage - car	2	£2,745
Congestion charge & toll	2	£1,880
Rail	1	£901

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	£202,692	£202,692
31 May 2023	Accommodation	Council tax	council tax for [*] [*]	£2,967	£2,967
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£2,295	£2,295
18 March 2024	Office Costs	Rent	quarterly rent for 37 bargates	£2,250	£2,250
21 December 2023	Office Costs	Rent	quarterly payment for lease on 37 Bargates	£2,250	£2,250
10 September 2023	Office Costs	Rent	quarterly rent for 37 bargates	£2,250	£2,250
20 June 2023	Office Costs	Rent	quarterly rent on 37 Bargates	£2,250	£2,250
21 March 2023	Office Costs	Rent	quarterly rent for 37 Bargates	£2,250	£2,250
25 March 2024	Accommodation	Council tax	new forest district council -half year council tax 2024	£1,579	£1,579
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Congestion charge & toll	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£1,403	£1,403
16 February 2023	Office Costs	Utilities	Gas	£1,027	£1,027
22 December 2023	Office Costs	Newspapers, journals, magazines	subscription to telegraph newspapers	£988	£988
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£901	£901
26 October 2023	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	autumn 2023 Parliamentary survey Inv [***] packing of survey ,letter and reply envelope boxing and delivery	£882	£882
26 October 2023	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	autumn 2023 Parliamentary survey Inv [***] -printing survey	£876	£876

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