MPs’ business costs

Jessica Morden

IPSA paid £2,858,063 against 1,933 published rows for Jessica Morden between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Newport East 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, 2012-13

120 claims, £139,412 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	£102,994	73.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	90	£20,712	14.9%
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.	27	£10,371	7.4%
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	£5,335	3.8%

Every year in the register

Jessica Morden’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	87	£85,404	£12,724	£1,257	£7,484	—	£106,869
2011-12	106	£108,094	£19,042	£9,304	£6,569	£628	£143,637
2012-13	120	£102,994	£20,712	£10,371	£5,335	—	£139,412
2013-14	134	£122,691	£21,685	£9,330	£5,446	—	£159,151
2014-15	113	£128,956	£20,698	£9,864	£5,951	£619	£166,088
2015-16	88	£133,171	£19,731	£9,737	£4,824	£316	£167,778
2016-17	87	£131,103	£20,927	£10,041	£5,615	£339	£168,026
2017-18	81	£138,159	£16,674	£9,823	£3,811	£350	£168,816
2018-19	79	£148,056	£19,343	£10,798	£6,044	£374	£184,615
2019-20	119	£149,472	£20,067	£12,363	£5,351	—	£187,254
2020-21	147	£163,237	£19,033	£14,957	£2,930	—	£200,156
2021-22	160	£181,091	£17,060	£16,453	£7,021	—	£221,625
2022-23	193	£200,977	£21,004	£22,930	£10,369	—	£255,280
2023-24	189	£207,873	£23,609	£29,658	£9,460	—	£270,601
2024-25	146	£232,086	£27,419	£27,476	£9,460	—	£296,441
2025-26	84	—	£15,541	£6,772	—	—	£22,313

A year in which Jessica Morden 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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£102,971
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£23

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	4	£6,404
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	36	£3,913
Other	13	£2,703
Business Rates	3	£2,617
IT/Other Equipment Hire	7	£2,063
Other Equip Purchase	1	£793

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£7,560
Service Charges	3	£1,406
Council Tax	2	£616
Water	2	£550
Television Licence	1	£73
Gas	3	£66

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£5,335

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£102,971	£102,971
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£5,335	£5,335
7 September 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent	£2,359	£2,359
31 May 2012	Office Costs	Business Rates	Travelcard	£2,224	£2,224
4 December 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency office rent	£2,081	£2,081
20 June 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	[***] - office rent	£1,804	£1,804
6 November 2012	Office Costs	Other	Danwood	£869	£869
28 March 2013	Office Costs	Other Equip Purchase	computer equipment	£793	£793
7 January 2013	Office Costs	Other	Photocopier rental	£719	£719
4 April 2012	Office Costs	IT/Other Equipment Hire	BNP Paribas 1015523	£697	£697
21 March 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£630	£630
21 February 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£630	£630
24 January 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£630	£630
19 December 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£630	£630
23 November 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£630	£630

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 Jessica Morden 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 · Jessica Morden’s register of interests and votes · Sources