MPs’ business costs

Helen Grant

IPSA paid £2,750,803 against 2,305 published rows for Helen Grant between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Maidstone and The Weald CC, then Maidstone and Malling 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, 2020-21

178 claims, £221,418 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.	2	£174,698	78.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	140	£28,171	12.7%
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.	35	£17,415	7.9%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£1,134	0.5%

Every year in the register

Helen Grant’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	123	£80,005	£14,111	£10,654	£1,322	—	£106,093
2011-12	117	£95,887	£16,817	£2,383	£974	—	£116,062
2012-13	168	£116,795	£19,292	£16,889	£297	—	£153,273
2013-14	150	£118,653	£19,250	£12,310	£313	—	£150,527
2014-15	138	£137,618	£22,687	£12,504	£896	—	£173,704
2015-16	106	£137,187	£17,216	£8,509	£297	—	£163,209
2016-17	104	£135,986	£17,386	£6,150	£1,017	—	£160,539
2017-18	129	£142,455	£23,090	£11,295	£881	—	£177,721
2018-19	112	£142,460	£23,405	£2,606	—	£775	£169,246
2019-20	181	£152,390	£25,130	£10,087	—	—	£187,606
2020-21	178	£174,698	£28,171	£17,415	—	£1,134	£221,418
2021-22	186	£160,950	£28,271	£23,557	£64	—	£212,842
2022-23	159	£171,945	£23,110	£25,351	£704	—	£221,110
2023-24	146	£194,765	£28,294	£7,850	£1,050	—	£231,959
2024-25	185	£220,576	£31,122	£19,005	£3,098	£2,369	£276,169
2025-26	123	—	£23,089	£6,236	—	—	£29,324

A year in which Helen Grant 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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£171,651
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,047

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	5	£8,661
Rent	6	£6,972
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,558
Utilities	23	£1,451
Software & applications	32	£1,321
Advertising and contact cards	8	£1,293

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	12	£14,902
Council tax	2	£1,141
Utilities	9	£822
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	11	£349
Moving Fees	1	£200

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£1,134

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£171,651	£171,651
9 February 2021	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	121 Flooring Ltd inv [***] - refurbishment of new constituency office	£4,594	£4,594
27 May 2020	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Policy Research Unit (Conservative)	£3,047	£3,047
25 March 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,000	£3,000
18 November 2020	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	121 Flooring Ltd Inv[***] - Work required in new constituency office	£2,809	£2,809
11 October 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,817	£1,817
11 March 2021	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,667	£1,667
11 February 2021	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,667	£1,667
12 January 2021	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,667	£1,667
13 December 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,667	£1,667
15 November 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£1,667	£1,667
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for 2020-21	£1,558	£1,558
24 September 2020	Accommodation	Council tax	Kensington & Council ref [***] council tax	£1,141	£1,141
5 October 2020	Miscellaneous	Removals	Steve Frieze Removals inv [***] - Removal due lease ending on constituency accomodatiuon	£1,134	£1,134
11 August 2020	Accommodation	Rent	—	£950	£950

Claims refused and money repaid, 2020-21

10 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £2,048 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 Helen Grant 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 · Helen Grant’s register of interests and votes · Sources