MPs’ business costs

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

IPSA paid £2,397,195 against 1,918 published rows for Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for The Cotswolds CC, then North Cotswolds 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, 2015-16

87 claims, £136,667 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.16£122,88289.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.70£11,3918.3%
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.1£2,3931.8%

Every year in the register

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelTotal
2010-1173£81,975£9,858£2,284£94,117
2011-12167£102,075£11,261£4,298£117,633
2012-13187£118,230£12,831£4,365£135,426
2013-14133£115,240£9,823£3,766£128,829
2014-1581£118,256£11,247£3,403£132,906
2015-1687£122,882£11,391£2,393£136,667
2016-1757£130,584£10,418£3,138£144,139
2017-1857£125,296£10,987£1,946£138,229
2018-1968£137,017£10,547£10,773£2,799£161,136
2019-20142£110,985£11,475£10,392£3,517£136,369
2020-21132£158,440£22,936£4,026£2,047£187,448
2021-22135£170,197£17,519£4,628£4,362£196,705
2022-23189£172,804£24,703£4,173£3,570£205,249
2023-24148£179,246£23,571£3,683£6,168£212,668
2024-25178£216,501£28,921£3,582£3,846£252,851
2025-2684£657£13,500£2,666£16,823

A year in which Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 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, 2015-16

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£122,765
Professional Services (Staff.)1£54
Public Tr UND Volunteer7£32
Food & Drink Volunteer7£31

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Stationery Purchase36£3,068
Professional Services: Direct1£2,977
Website - Design/Production1£2,653
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental12£790
Newspapers/Journals13£747
Legal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.1£578

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£2,393

Largest claims, 2015-16

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 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£122,765£122,765
12 June 2015Office CostsProfessional Services: DirectPRU£2,977£2,977
29 July 2015Office CostsWebsite - Design/ProductionWebsite - Design/Production£2,653£2,653
31 March 2016TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2015-16£2,393£2,393
9 August 2015Office CostsLegal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.EPL£578£578
9 January 2016Office CostsProfessional ServicesProfessional Services£289£289
8 August 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£203£203
26 February 2016Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£195£195
22 December 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£195£195
31 December 2015Office CostsConst Office Tel. Usage/RentalMobile Phone£181£181
21 May 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseStationery purchase£179£179
22 December 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£149£149
26 February 2016Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£144£144
22 December 2015Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£144£144
9 June 2015Office CostsNewspapers/JournalsNewspapers/Journals£144£144

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 Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 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 Geoffrey Clifton-Brown’s register of interests and votes · Sources