MPs’ business costs

Mr David Lammy

IPSA paid £3,026,378 against 3,947 published rows for Mr David Lammy between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Tottenham BC. 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, 2011-12

414 claims, £167,188 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.	330	£144,581	86.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	83	£20,899	12.5%
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	£1,707	1.0%

Every year in the register

Mr David Lammy’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	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	416	£154,626	£17,587	£1,595	—	£173,808
2011-12	414	£144,581	£20,899	£1,707	—	£167,188
2012-13	378	£141,363	£22,642	£2,272	—	£166,277
2013-14	460	£143,535	£21,907	£1,977	—	£167,419
2014-15	304	£145,517	£25,900	£484	—	£171,900
2015-16	590	£139,719	£22,019	£2,045	—	£163,782
2016-17	244	£144,621	£18,119	£2,401	—	£165,141
2017-18	385	£155,753	£17,876	£1,876	—	£175,505
2018-19	143	£177,184	£18,721	—	£1,098	£197,003
2019-20	74	£163,433	£22,374	—	£16,207	£202,014
2020-21	55	£187,179	£24,687	£115	—	£211,981
2021-22	66	£214,050	£27,898	—	—	£241,948
2022-23	143	£235,219	£28,582	—	—	£263,800
2023-24	154	£248,874	£34,620	—	—	£283,494
2024-25	95	£240,402	£27,433	—	—	£267,835
2025-26	26	£78	£7,204	—	—	£7,282

A year in which Mr David Lammy 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£141,759
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	84	£1,706
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	185	£682
Public Tr RAIL Other Int/Volnt	18	£264
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	40	£167
Public Tr RAIL Int/Volntr - SG	2	£3

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	3	£7,200
Stationery Purchase	23	£3,481
Computer HW Purchase	3	£2,573
Postage Purchase	5	£1,625
Business Rates	10	£1,136
Parliamentary Accountancy	1	£936

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£1,707

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£141,759	£141,759
1 January 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent Jan--Mar 2012	£3,600	£3,600
1 July 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Const Rent July-Sept 201	£3,008	£3,008
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£1,707	£1,707
13 September 2011	Office Costs	Postage Purchase	Office Expenses Sept 2011	£1,575	£1,575
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	March 2012 OE	£1,072	£1,072
10 February 2012	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	February office expenses	£936	£936
14 May 2011	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	May Office Costs	£852	£852
30 September 2011	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office Expenses Sept 2011	£715	£715
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	March 2012 OE	£649	£649
11 October 2011	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL Insurance	£636	£636
9 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	March 2012 OE	£592	£592
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	March 2012 OE	£541	£541
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	March 2012 - office expenses	£541	£541
1 September 2011	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Staff Training	£500	£500

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 Mr David Lammy 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 · Mr David Lammy’s register of interests and votes · Sources