MPs’ business costs

Sir James Cleverly

IPSA paid £2,037,209 against 778 published rows for Sir James Cleverly between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Braintree 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, 2016-17

85 claims, £178,876 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.	4	£141,197	78.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	36	£19,980	11.2%
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.	44	£16,210	9.1%
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	£1,489	0.8%

Every year in the register

Sir James Cleverly’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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
2015-16	82	£108,820	£17,782	£13,500	£685	£4,864	£585	£146,236
2016-17	85	£141,197	£19,980	£16,210	£1,489	—	—	£178,876
2017-18	70	£135,637	£22,641	£19,458	—	—	—	£177,736
2018-19	65	£147,746	£21,841	£18,096	—	—	—	£187,683
2019-20	86	£159,391	£13,984	£16,914	—	—	—	£190,289
2020-21	60	£176,926	£10,028	£16,618	—	—	—	£203,573
2021-22	37	£178,210	£11,605	£18,740	—	—	—	£208,555
2022-23	92	£201,404	£9,358	£19,882	—	—	—	£230,644
2023-24	82	£197,330	£15,864	£22,821	—	—	—	£236,015
2024-25	99	£218,032	£30,350	£14,805	£335	—	£1,068	£264,590
2025-26	20	—	£10,704	£2,309	—	—	—	£13,013

A year in which Sir James Cleverly 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	£132,376
Professional Services (Staff.)	2	£6,150
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,671

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Professional Services	3	£10,550
Const Office Rent	7	£4,005
Stationery Purchase	11	£2,654
Computer SW Purchase	1	£900
Website - Design/Production	1	£813
Computer HW Purchase	4	£367

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£13,800
Council Tax	3	£1,557
Electricity	11	£669
Telephone Usage/Rental	13	£500
Water	3	£136
Budget Repayment (Accomm.)	1	£-452

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£1,489

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	£132,376	£132,376
1 February 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office Support	£4,250	£4,250
29 March 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office Support	£3,500	£3,500
31 July 2016	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Staffing	£3,400	£3,400
1 November 2016	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office Support	£2,800	£2,800
3 May 2016	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Office support	£2,750	£2,750
6 July 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,671	£2,671
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£1,489	£1,489
15 June 2016	Accommodation	Council Tax	Payment Card	£1,248	£1,248
11 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150
11 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150
9 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150
10 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150
11 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150
6 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,150	£1,150

Claims refused and money repaid, 2016-17

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £133 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 Sir James Cleverly 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 James Cleverly’s register of interests and votes · Sources