MPs’ business costs

Emma Lewell

IPSA paid £2,515,246 against 1,811 published rows for Emma Lewell between 2013-14 and 2025-26 as the member for South Shields 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, 2016-17

117 claims, £177,758 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.	3	£125,241	70.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	84	£22,219	12.5%
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.	29	£18,221	10.3%
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	£12,076	6.8%

Every year in the register

Emma Lewell’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2013-14 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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2013-14	367	£86,538	£18,887	£20,777	£18,631	£3,738	£160	£148,732
2014-15	162	£129,675	£19,955	£17,285	£11,715	£650	—	£179,280
2015-16	136	£120,615	£19,963	£18,529	£9,603	—	£1,095	£169,805
2016-17	117	£125,241	£22,219	£18,221	£12,076	—	—	£177,758
2017-18	108	£136,710	£19,698	£18,860	£6,716	—	—	£181,983
2018-19	92	£146,913	£18,090	£19,226	£10,562	—	—	£194,790
2019-20	143	£150,393	£21,234	£20,706	£10,466	—	—	£202,799
2020-21	103	£170,188	£18,811	£19,001	£5,701	—	—	£213,702
2021-22	94	£155,808	£24,575	£20,856	£8,203	—	—	£209,442
2022-23	123	£184,017	£21,430	£22,071	£16,977	—	—	£244,494
2023-24	143	£207,973	£22,152	£20,534	£15,202	—	£846	£266,707
2024-25	152	£231,909	£29,176	£19,147	£18,032	—	£2,201	£300,466
2025-26	71	—	£12,898	£12,390	—	—	—	£25,288

A year in which Emma Lewell 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£124,191
Staff Training Costs	2	£1,050

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	5	£7,406
Install/Maint Office Equip.	5	£3,024
Stationery Purchase	24	£2,649
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	22	£2,508
Computer HW Purchase	3	£1,184
Const Office Buildings Insur.	4	£1,006

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£17,160
Council Tax	6	£369
Water	1	£324
Gas	4	£182
Electricity	4	£131
Service Charges	1	£55

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,076

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£124,191	£124,191
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£12,076	£12,076
8 March 2017	Office Costs	Install/Maint Office Equip.	IPSA Card - March 2017	£2,400	£2,400
15 December 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,988	£1,988
16 September 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,988	£1,988
16 June 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,988	£1,988
25 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
20 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
25 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
26 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
27 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
29 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
29 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430

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 Emma Lewell 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 · Emma Lewell’s register of interests and votes · Sources