Civometry

MPs’ business costs

George Freeman

IPSA paid £2,981,516 against 2,869 published rows for George Freeman between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Mid Norfolk 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, 2014-15

206 claims, £174,717 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.51£137,35278.6%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.147£19,28811.0%
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.7£12,4677.1%
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£5,6103.2%

Every year in the register

George Freeman’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 costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11177£84,359£11,359£3,521£4,634—£103,872
2011-12167£113,216£19,513£3,960£6,315—£143,004
2012-13196£132,367£19,229£7,628£5,613—£164,836
2013-14342£129,147£23,721£10,087£7,074—£170,029
2014-15206£137,352£19,288£12,467£5,610—£174,717
2015-16108£139,794£16,001£25,450£3,422—£184,667
2016-17133£142,097£20,799£25,460£4,347—£192,704
2017-18114£147,947£17,909£25,549£4,462—£195,867
2018-19110£145,893£23,622£27,518£3,466—£200,498
2019-20126£145,159£17,476—£2,600£1,012£166,247
2020-21162£175,978£22,600£11,855£932£4,469£215,834
2021-22225£201,569£19,118£16,320£3,591—£240,598
2022-23219£209,542£25,047£17,840£5,532—£257,961
2023-24262£207,777£29,936£19,090£5,889—£262,692
2024-25232£223,565£29,856£19,734£7,910£7,143£288,208
2025-2690£4,470£14,629£683——£19,782

A year in which George Freeman 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, 2014-15

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£133,050
Pooled Services: Direct1£3,006
Public Tr UND Volunteer23£796
Food & Drink Volunteer26£501

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Stationery Purchase53£4,457
Const Office Rent11£4,379
Website - Design/Production9£3,024
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental14£1,821
Other Equip Purchase8£1,422
Business Rates8£1,386

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accommodation Rent4£11,267
Hotel London Area3£1,200

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£5,610

Largest claims, 2014-15

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 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£133,050£133,050
31 March 2015TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2014-15£5,610£5,610
8 April 2014StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRU subscription£3,006£3,006
18 March 2015AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation£2,817£2,817
18 February 2015AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation Rent£2,817£2,817
18 January 2015AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation Rent£2,817£2,817
18 December 2014AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation Rent£2,817£2,817
14 April 2014Office CostsOther Equip PurchaseOffice Costs£1,277£1,277
29 October 2014Office CostsWebsite - Design/ProductionOffice Costs£666£666
7 August 2014Office CostsWebsite - Design/ProductionOffice Costs£666£666
11 July 2014Office CostsWebsite - Design/ProductionOffice Costs£666£666
7 April 2014Office CostsWebsite - Design/ProductionOffice Costs£666£666
9 August 2014Office CostsLegal Exp/Emp Practice Insur.EPL insurance£578£578
22 September 2014Office CostsConst Office RentOffice Costs£500£500
20 August 2014Office CostsConst Office RentOffice Costs£500£500

Claims refused and money repaid, 2014-15

5 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £1,639 not paid and £0 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 George Freeman 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 · George Freeman’s register of interests and votes · Sources