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, 2017-18

385 claims, £175,505 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.	344	£155,753	88.7%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	40	£17,876	10.2%
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	£1,876	1.1%

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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£152,008
Volunteer Agreed Arrang. Costs	312	£2,269
Staff Training Costs	1	£1,250
Public Tr UND Volunteer	3	£134
Food & Drink Volunteer	27	£92

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	5	£13,228
Parliamentary Accountancy	1	£690
Const Office Cleaning	13	£684
Const Office Electricity	4	£570
Other Equip Purchase	3	£529
Computer SW Purchase	1	£500

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£1,876

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	£152,008	£152,008
21 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
27 September 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
27 June 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
1 April 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£3,038	£3,038
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£1,876	£1,876
20 December 2017	Staffing	Staff Training Costs	Office Expenses December 2017	£1,250	£1,250
22 March 2018	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	Parliamentary Accountancy 3/18	£690	£690
9 June 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	Caseworker.MP Renewal June2017	£500	£500
27 February 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office expenses Feb-March 18	£400	£400
24 February 2018	Office Costs	Contents Insurance	Office expenses Feb-March 18	£369	£369
26 February 2018	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Printer purchase	£328	£328
20 September 2017	Staffing	Volunteer Agreed Arrang. Costs	Intern expenses HF Sept 17	£321	£321
26 October 2017	Staffing	Volunteer Agreed Arrang. Costs	Intern expenses HF Sept 17	£305	£305
11 December 2017	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	Office Expenses December 2017	£283	£283

Claims refused and money repaid, 2017-18

42 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £173 not paid and £0 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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