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, 2012-13

378 claims, £166,277 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.	305	£141,363	85.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	72	£22,642	13.6%
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.	1	£2,272	1.4%

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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£138,576
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	65	£1,384
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	211	£770
Public Tr OTHER Int/Volntr	17	£478
Public Tr RAIL Other Int/Volnt	6	£148
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr	5	£8

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	4	£14,400
Computer HW Purchase	2	£2,694
Business Rates	9	£1,080
Other	13	£761
Parliamentary Accountancy	1	£651
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£604

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£2,272

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£138,576	£138,576
19 December 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
1 October 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Const office rent Oct-Dec 2012	£3,600	£3,600
1 July 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent July-September 2012	£3,600	£3,600
1 April 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent const office Mar-Jun 2012	£3,600	£3,600
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£2,272	£2,272
14 March 2013	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	March 2013 office expenses	£1,845	£1,845
4 January 2013	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Nov/Dec 2012 office expenses	£848	£848
31 January 2013	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	January 2013 office costs	£651	£651
9 August 2012	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL	£604	£604
31 May 2012	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	July office expenses	£349	£349
1 March 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	March 2013 office expenses	£324	£324
4 February 2013	Office Costs	Contents Insurance	Feb 2013 office expenses	£278	£278
13 November 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Electricity	Nov/Dec 2012 office expenses	£245	£245
19 March 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Gas	March 2013 office expenses	£172	£172

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