Civometry

MPs’ business costs

Elaine Stewart

IPSA paid £226,919 against 230 published rows for Elaine Stewart between 2024-25 and 2025-26 as the member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 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, 2024-25 to 2025-26

230 claims, £226,919 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£133,29958.7%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.195£49,69421.9%
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.13£20,2838.9%
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.18£22,72510.0%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£9190.4%

Every year in the register

Elaine Stewart’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2024-25 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
2024-25144£133,299£30,770£20,283£22,725£919£207,995
2025-2686—£18,924———£18,924

A year in which Elaine Stewart 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, 2024-25 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£130,999
Pooled staffing services1£2,300

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Stationery & printing37£6,395
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs11£6,372
Rent9£5,880
Advertising and contact cards19£5,555
Equipment - purchase12£5,404
Utilities25£4,361

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent8£16,764
Hotel - London5£3,518

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Air travel2£12,588
Rail3£4,116
Mileage - car2£2,259
Hotel - London2£2,055
Parking3£1,297
Subsistence1£172

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removals2£919

Largest claims, 2024-25 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 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£130,999£130,999
31 March 2025MP TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£10,512£10,512
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£3,121£3,121
13 February 2025AccommodationRentFlat Rent£2,608£2,608
17 January 2025AccommodationRentFlat Rent£2,608£2,608
23 December 2024AccommodationRentRent for London Flat£2,608£2,608
20 November 2024AccommodationRentaccommodation£2,608£2,608
23 October 2024AccommodationRentrent due on 1st nov 2024£2,608£2,608
13 September 2024Office CostsMobile telephone - equipment purchaseAMAZON [***]£2,535£2,535
7 February 2025StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£2,300£2,300
31 March 2025Staff TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£2,076£2,076
27 February 2025Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOffice furniture£1,756£1,756
19 September 2024AccommodationRent[***] - rent for 12/10/2024 - 31/10/2024 due in advance£1,683£1,683
16 September 2024Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOffice furniture£1,650£1,650
31 March 2025MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,648£1,648

Claims refused and money repaid, 2024-25 to 2025-26

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £921 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 Elaine Stewart 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 · Elaine Stewart’s register of interests and votes · Sources