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

146 claims, £103,376 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.	14	£78,989	76.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	85	£14,632	14.2%
Accommodation	The 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.	46	£4,054	3.9%
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	£5,700	5.5%

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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	146	£78,989	£14,632	£4,054	£5,700	—	£103,376
2011-12	190	£120,683	£21,247	£4,368	£8,630	—	£154,928
2012-13	171	£130,793	£22,094	£4,701	£8,884	—	£166,472
2013-14	177	£135,872	£19,666	£9,038	£9,295	£845	£174,716
2014-15	177	£138,403	£23,088	£10,138	£9,740	—	£181,369
2015-16	200	£139,057	£22,620	£9,987	£8,668	—	£180,332
2016-17	176	£135,747	£22,220	£10,095	£9,844	—	£177,905
2017-18	167	£147,194	£23,841	£10,585	£5,945	—	£187,564
2018-19	172	£139,857	£23,486	£10,067	£11,932	£805	£186,147
2019-20	190	£151,890	£24,621	£9,096	£10,425	—	£196,032
2020-21	209	£188,651	£29,958	£10,631	£2,368	—	£231,607
2021-22	182	£184,019	£21,768	£10,567	£6,622	—	£222,977
2022-23	193	£200,375	£22,163	£12,516	£10,444	—	£245,497
2023-24	217	£212,979	£24,794	£12,513	£10,602	£757	£261,645
2024-25	187	£197,567	£23,944	£12,648	£10,225	£1,886	£246,269
2025-26	99	£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

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£74,914
Professional Services (Staff.)	12	£2,875
Pooled Staffing Services	1	£1,200

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	21	£5,776
Stationery Purchase	24	£4,098
Install/Maint Office Equip.	2	£1,530
Telephone/Mobile Hire	16	£850
Removal Costs	1	£580
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	1	£567

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	9	£1,444
Gas	10	£931
Water	11	£708
Home Contents Insurance	6	£568
Electricity	7	£247
Telephone Usage/Rental	3	£157

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£5,700

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£74,914	£74,914
31 March 2011	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2010-11	£5,700	£5,700
31 March 2011	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Research services - March 2011	£2,347	£2,347
19 January 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	Payment research Jan 11	£1,200	£1,200
15 September 2010	Office Costs	Install/Maint Office Equip.	Admin expenses 15/09/10	£954	£954
18 March 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Const office rent March 2011	£821	£821
28 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery orders Banner Mar11	£758	£758
15 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery orders Banner Mar11	£646	£646
28 February 2011	Office Costs	Removal Costs	Removal costs Hull office	£580	£580
22 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery Order March 2011	£577	£577
8 March 2011	Office Costs	Install/Maint Office Equip.	Servicing off equipment Mar11	£576	£576
4 March 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Const office phone March 11	£567	£567
29 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery orders Banner Mar11	£415	£415
19 November 2010	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery Purchase 19/11/10	£404	£404
19 November 2010	Accommodation	Home Contents Insurance	Home contents insurance 10/11	£391	£391

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