MPs’ business costs

Fabian Hamilton

IPSA paid £2,797,286 against 1,630 published rows for Fabian Hamilton between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Leeds North East 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, 2011-12

131 claims, £155,544 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	£120,729	77.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	129	£28,121	18.1%
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	£6,694	4.3%

Every year in the register

Fabian Hamilton’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	98	£92,781	£19,082	—	£4,435	—	£116,298
2011-12	131	£120,729	£28,121	—	£6,694	—	£155,544
2012-13	106	£129,873	£22,200	£116	£6,750	—	£158,939
2013-14	112	£133,373	£23,785	—	£5,637	£50	£162,845
2014-15	94	£137,497	£21,567	—	£6,700	—	£165,764
2015-16	115	£161,656	£23,478	—	£3,879	£5,983	£194,996
2016-17	99	£127,283	£22,000	—	£6,022	—	£155,305
2017-18	104	£149,765	£23,523	—	£4,395	—	£177,683
2018-19	88	£136,889	£22,876	—	£5,603	—	£165,369
2019-20	116	£143,338	£24,519	—	£6,759	—	£174,616
2020-21	112	£180,943	£26,204	£3,717	£730	—	£211,594
2021-22	82	£173,894	£19,164	£981	£5,003	£45	£199,087
2022-23	106	£189,336	£21,857	£1,287	£6,742	—	£219,223
2023-24	107	£215,590	£25,937	£2,451	£7,495	—	£251,473
2024-25	95	£238,906	£23,897	£10,363	£5,220	£549	£278,935
2025-26	65	—	£9,502	£114	—	—	£9,617

A year in which Fabian Hamilton 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	£120,729

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	6	£6,906
Computer HW Purchase	8	£2,493
Stationery Purchase	25	£2,167
Business Rates	1	£2,037
Printer Hire	4	£1,925
Const Office Hire of Premises	1	£1,571

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,694

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	£120,729	£120,729
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£6,694	£6,694
4 April 2011	Office Costs	Business Rates	Leeds City Council	£2,037	£2,037
28 April 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent	£1,700	£1,700
28 December 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,694	£1,694
26 September 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Leeds North East CLP	£1,694	£1,694
29 June 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent	£1,694	£1,694
1 April 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Hire of Premises	Constiuency Office Rent	£1,571	£1,571
30 July 2011	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Apple	£999	£999
13 April 2011	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Apple	£999	£999
28 April 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Gas	E.on	£646	£646
7 February 2012	Office Costs	Photocopier Hire	Ricoh	£619	£619
1 November 2011	Office Costs	Printer Hire	Ricoh	£619	£619
13 July 2011	Office Costs	Printer Hire	Ricoh	£619	£619
15 April 2011	Office Costs	Printer Hire	Ricoh	£619	£619

Claims refused and money repaid, 2011-12

3 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £360 not paid and £1,722 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 Fabian Hamilton 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 · Fabian Hamilton’s register of interests and votes · Sources