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, 2014-15

304 claims, £171,900 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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.243£145,51784.7%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.60£25,90015.1%
TravelJourneys 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£4840.3%

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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11416£154,626£17,587£1,595£173,808
2011-12414£144,581£20,899£1,707£167,188
2012-13378£141,363£22,642£2,272£166,277
2013-14460£143,535£21,907£1,977£167,419
2014-15304£145,517£25,900£484£171,900
2015-16590£139,719£22,019£2,045£163,782
2016-17244£144,621£18,119£2,401£165,141
2017-18385£155,753£17,876£1,876£175,505
2018-19143£177,184£18,721£1,098£197,003
2019-2074£163,433£22,374£16,207£202,014
2020-2155£187,179£24,687£115£211,981
2021-2266£214,050£27,898£241,948
2022-23143£235,219£28,582£263,800
2023-24154£248,874£34,620£283,494
2024-2595£240,402£27,433£267,835
2025-2626£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, 2014-15

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£142,799
Public Tr UND Volunteer38£1,341
Food & Drink Volunteer201£724
Health and Welfare Costs1£650
Public Tr BUS Volunteer2£3

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent5£18,000
Computer HW Purchase2£2,202
Business Rates10£1,256
Professional Services3£1,112
Other8£665
Stationery Purchase8£648

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£484

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£142,799£142,799
25 March 2015Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
22 December 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
26 September 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
25 June 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
1 April 2014Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
30 September 2014Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseSeptember Office Costs£1,112£1,112
10 September 2014Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseOffice Expenses September 2014£1,090£1,090
17 October 2014StaffingHealth and Welfare CostsDaisy Cycle scheme£650£650
15 April 2014Office CostsProfessional ServicesApril/May office costs£600£600
9 August 2014Office CostsLegal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.EPL insurance£578£578
19 June 2014Office CostsSoftware PurchaseJune office costs£500£500
19 June 2014Office CostsProfessional ServicesJune office costs£500£500
31 March 2015TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2014-15£484£484
26 March 2015Office CostsOtherRapide - text messaging service£297£297

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