MPs’ business costs

Sir Edward Leigh

IPSA paid £2,304,264 against 1,268 published rows for Sir Edward Leigh between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Gainsborough 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, 2011-12

140 claims, £133,793 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.	28	£111,229	83.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	43	£7,618	5.7%
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.	68	£6,553	4.9%
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	£8,393	6.3%

Every year in the register

Sir Edward Leigh’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	75	£74,915	£4,422	£2,907	£6,357	—	£88,602
2011-12	140	£111,229	£7,618	£6,553	£8,393	—	£133,793
2012-13	104	£123,247	£10,492	£4,580	£7,013	—	£145,332
2013-14	82	£116,793	£5,254	£6,138	£7,014	—	£135,199
2014-15	34	£122,256	£3,664	£207	£6,440	—	£132,567
2015-16	59	£126,162	£5,385	£3,768	£4,714	—	£140,030
2016-17	58	£133,060	£3,803	£3,126	£5,557	—	£145,546
2017-18	80	£133,350	£3,799	£5,962	£6,700	—	£149,811
2018-19	81	£134,940	£2,977	£5,150	£5,998	—	£149,064
2019-20	83	£132,736	£2,529	£5,269	£7,085	—	£147,620
2020-21	85	£151,195	£6,663	£5,409	£3,613	—	£166,881
2021-22	85	£151,533	£6,418	£5,570	£6,293	—	£169,814
2022-23	86	£164,609	£5,358	£5,990	£8,699	—	£184,656
2023-24	81	£172,337	£4,560	£6,330	£7,275	—	£190,502
2024-25	102	£195,220	£8,666	£6,630	£6,256	—	£216,772
2025-26	33	—	£1,922	£6,154	—	—	£8,076

A year in which Sir Edward Leigh 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£105,654
Pooled Staffing Services	1	£3,960
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	21	£691
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£500
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	4	£424

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Office Furniture Purchase	3	£2,669
Const Office Rent	7	£1,791
Mobile Usage/Rental	19	£1,421
Stationery Purchase	12	£1,029
Business Rates	1	£469
Other	1	£240

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	11	£2,287
Buildings Insurance	10	£1,461
Gas	10	£1,130
Water	2	£630
Electricity	11	£564
Internet	11	£286

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£8,393

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£105,654	£105,654
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£8,393	£8,393
3 June 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRU	£3,960	£3,960
8 November 2011	Office Costs	Office Furniture Purchase	Constituency office furniture	£1,848	£1,848
15 March 2012	Accommodation	Council Tax	Accommodation Council Tax	£1,141	£1,141
1 August 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent and Key Deposit	£900	£900
7 November 2011	Office Costs	Office Furniture Purchase	Constituency office furniture	£665	£665
7 February 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Freelance [***]	£500	£500
16 January 2012	Office Costs	Business Rates	Payment Card Dec/Jan	£469	£469
22 March 2012	Accommodation	Water	Card Payment Feb/March 2012	£326	£326
11 May 2011	Accommodation	Water	PAYMENT CARD / MAY	£304	£304
24 February 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£300	£300
24 January 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£300	£300
24 December 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£300	£300
24 November 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£300	£300

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 Sir Edward Leigh 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 · Sir Edward Leigh’s register of interests and votes · Sources