MPs’ business costs

Dame Diana Johnson

IPSA paid £2,952,269 against 2,853 published rows for Dame Diana Johnson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Kingston upon Hull North BC, then Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

2,853 claims, £2,952,269 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.358£2,315,87278.4%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.1,529£360,96812.2%
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.888£141,8124.8%
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.73£129,3244.4%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.5£4,2930.1%

Every year in the register

Dame Diana Johnson’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 costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11146£78,989£14,632£4,054£5,700£103,376
2011-12190£120,683£21,247£4,368£8,630£154,928
2012-13171£130,793£22,094£4,701£8,884£166,472
2013-14177£135,872£19,666£9,038£9,295£845£174,716
2014-15177£138,403£23,088£10,138£9,740£181,369
2015-16200£139,057£22,620£9,987£8,668£180,332
2016-17176£135,747£22,220£10,095£9,844£177,905
2017-18167£147,194£23,841£10,585£5,945£187,564
2018-19172£139,857£23,486£10,067£11,932£805£186,147
2019-20190£151,890£24,621£9,096£10,425£196,032
2020-21209£188,651£29,958£10,631£2,368£231,607
2021-22182£184,019£21,768£10,567£6,622£222,977
2022-23193£200,375£22,163£12,516£10,444£245,497
2023-24217£212,979£24,794£12,513£10,602£757£261,645
2024-25187£197,567£23,944£12,648£10,225£1,886£246,269
2025-2699£13,798£20,825£808£35,431

A year in which Dame Diana Johnson 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll15£2,108,653
Bought-in services79£70,869
Professional Services (Staff.)103£68,658
Pooled Services: Direct7£33,600
Pooled staffing services6£24,700
Pooled Staffing Services4£4,800

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent122£87,319
Rent50£50,474
Stationery Purchase227£37,948
Equipment - hire29£20,874
Equipment - purchase143£17,984
Stationery & printing219£17,874

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent59£46,926
Accommodation Rent72£44,072
Council Tax54£11,802
Council tax42£10,124
Utilities164£6,908
Gas105£5,516

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs9£78,638
Rail31£36,299
Mileage - car18£9,902
Parking6£2,397
Hotel - London4£1,766
Hotel - UK Not London2£256

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll2£1,689
Removal Costs - Contingency2£1,650
Removals1£954

Largest claims, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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 2024StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£198,399£198,399
31 March 2023StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year£184,837£184,837
31 March 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£183,465£183,465
31 March 2021StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year£174,936£174,936
31 March 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£169,319£169,319
31 March 2020StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year£140,201£140,201
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£134,049£134,049
31 March 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£126,251£126,251
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£124,924£124,924
31 March 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£124,664£124,664
31 March 2017StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year£122,022£122,022
31 March 2014StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2013-14 year£120,650£120,650
31 March 2013StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2012-13 year£117,360£117,360
31 March 2012StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2011-12 year£112,663£112,663
31 March 2011StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2010-11 year£74,914£74,914

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11 to 2025-26

3 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £210 not paid and £785 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 Dame Diana Johnson 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 · Dame Diana Johnson’s register of interests and votes · Sources