MPs’ business costs

Ed Davey

IPSA paid £2,616,266 against 1,207 published rows for Ed Davey between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Kingston and Surbiton 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

89 claims, £174,130 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.	1	£148,975	85.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	88	£25,155	14.4%

Every year in the register

Ed Davey’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	Starting up and winding up	Total
2010-11	89	£89,387	£24,352	£53	—	£113,792
2011-12	87	£112,952	£27,205	—	—	£140,157
2012-13	88	£142,972	£21,330	—	—	£164,302
2013-14	92	£144,343	£24,533	£17	—	£168,893
2014-15	112	£150,788	£24,839	—	—	£175,627
2015-16	36	£14,407	£4,037	—	£81,295	£99,738
2017-18	23	£134,625	£22,620	£275	—	£157,520
2018-19	45	£161,481	£25,006	—	—	£186,487
2019-20	89	£148,975	£25,155	—	—	£174,130
2020-21	65	£178,657	£27,204	—	—	£205,861
2021-22	56	£206,297	£24,649	—	—	£230,947
2022-23	112	£208,784	£21,635	£54	—	£230,474
2023-24	138	£236,357	£29,628	—	—	£265,985
2024-25	128	£268,810	£26,028	—	—	£294,837
2025-26	47	—	£7,516	—	—	£7,516

A year in which Ed Davey 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	£148,975

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	4	£10,400
Pooled staffing services	1	£5,300
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	11	£2,286
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	2	£2,172
Insurance - buildings	2	£1,400
Cleaning services	18	£985

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	£148,975	£148,975
9 July 2019	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Support Team (Liberal Democrat)	£5,300	£5,300
11 March 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
12 December 2019	Office Costs	Rent	—	£2,600	£2,600
11 September 2019	Office Costs	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,600	£2,600
8 June 2019	Office Costs	Rent	Direct rental payment	£2,600	£2,600
25 July 2019	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Removal and installation of Air Conditioning system in Constituency Office	£2,112	£2,112
2 October 2019	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Internet	£1,009	£1,009
2 October 2019	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£790	£790
18 February 2020	Office Costs	Insurance - buildings	Constituency Office buildings insurance - 50% claim	£700	£700
2 October 2019	Office Costs	Insurance - buildings	Constituency Office Property Insurance	£700	£700
22 May 2019	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Office furniture	£519	£519
18 May 2019	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£500	£500
18 February 2020	Office Costs	Utilities	Gas	£263	£263
18 November 2019	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£199	£199

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 Ed Davey 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 · Ed Davey’s register of interests and votes · Sources