MPs’ business costs

Derek Twigg

IPSA paid £2,104,794 against 1,256 published rows for Derek Twigg between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Halton CC, then Widnes and Halewood CC. 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

62 claims, £120,868 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.2£84,21069.7%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.42£10,4058.6%
AccommodationThe cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.17£22,06318.3%
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£4,1893.5%

Every year in the register

Derek Twigg’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 costsAccommodationTravelTotal
2010-11109£74,164£8,529£18,460£5,204£106,358
2011-12111£92,428£13,702£19,401£5,824£131,355
2012-13118£77,343£14,140£19,556£7,273£118,312
2013-14103£68,892£11,157£19,826£9,394£109,270
2014-15101£79,000£12,488£19,485£9,342£120,315
2015-16104£80,987£10,954£17,285£8,648£117,873
2016-1775£80,109£11,564£20,211£8,002£119,886
2017-1862£84,210£10,405£22,063£4,189£120,868
2018-1951£88,804£11,428£18,783£9,065£128,081
2019-20105£100,538£13,668£21,674£2,237£138,117
2020-2164£99,380£14,083£20,187£4,245£137,896
2021-2249£121,405£14,433£22,091£6,419£164,348
2022-2368£126,680£12,734£22,387£6,984£168,785
2023-2459£147,125£13,109£22,300£7,090£189,624
2024-2563£179,687£13,793£26,560£8,942£228,982
2025-2614£2,735£1,990£4,725

A year in which Derek Twigg 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 typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£79,410
Pooled Services: Direct1£4,800

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent14£6,843
Computer HW Purchase1£1,135
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental12£592
Stationery Purchase7£584
IT/Other Equipment Hire1£485
Const Office Buildings Insur.1£415

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accommodation Rent14£20,874
Council Tax1£688
Water1£473
Electricity1£28

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£4,189

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£79,410£79,410
28 April 2017StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRS£4,800£4,800
31 March 2018TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2017-18£4,189£4,189
26 March 2018AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
23 February 2018AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
26 January 2018AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
21 December 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
24 November 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
29 October 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
29 September 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
29 August 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
27 July 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
27 June 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
25 May 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582
25 April 2017AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,582£1,582

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 Derek Twigg 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 · Derek Twigg’s register of interests and votes · Sources