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, 2019-20

74 claims, £202,014 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.	43	£163,433	80.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	30	£22,374	11.1%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£16,207	8.0%

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, 2019-20

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£163,343
Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs	42	£90

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	5	£14,400
Equipment - purchase	3	£3,802
Stationery & printing	10	£1,560
Utilities	7	£800
Bought-in services	1	£720
Cleaning services	3	£591

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£16,207

Largest claims, 2019-20

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 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£163,343	£163,343
31 March 2020	Miscellaneous	Payroll	Other payroll costs for the 2019-20 financial year	£16,207	£16,207
1 April 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
2 January 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,600	£3,600
2 October 2019	Office Costs	Rent	Direct rental payment	£3,600	£3,600
3 July 2019	Office Costs	Rent	Direct rental payment	£3,600	£3,600
26 June 2019	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£2,085	£2,085
19 February 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£1,597	£1,597
4 March 2020	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Parliamentary accountancy	£720	£720
5 July 2019	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£500	£500
21 November 2019	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner October 2019	£309	£309
21 November 2019	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner October 2019	£309	£309
24 July 2019	Office Costs	Cleaning services	Please find attached receipt showing payment made to [***] for constiteuncy office cleaning from Winter 2018-Summer 2019	£296	£296
24 July 2019	Office Costs	Cleaning services	cleaning for constituency office, covering 5 month period	£296	£296
12 September 2019	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Banner August 2019	£206	£206

Claims refused and money repaid, 2019-20

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £846 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