MPs’ business costs

Sir Julian Lewis

IPSA paid £2,241,030 against 1,054 published rows for Sir Julian Lewis between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for New Forest 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

1,054 claims, £2,241,030 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.25£1,894,10684.5%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.805£210,5769.4%
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.180£97,4584.3%
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.43£38,8861.7%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.1£40.0%

Every year in the register

Sir Julian Lewis’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
2010-1179£84,837£10,811£7,401£3,348£106,397
2011-1284£101,187£11,836£6,926£3,893£123,842
2012-1379£102,016£13,182£5,950£3,287£124,434
2013-1480£102,943£12,087£7,193£3,372£125,595
2014-1579£102,477£11,850£6,595£3,708£4£124,634
2015-1674£104,568£12,117£3,698£2,505£122,888
2016-1774£105,526£10,975£8,562£2,649£127,713
2017-1876£118,800£12,698£4,122£1,816£137,436
2018-1976£125,070£15,582£5,148£2,370£148,171
2019-2072£127,557£15,845£5,270£1,632£150,304
2020-2161£137,758£15,738£5,410£1,169£160,075
2021-2253£157,672£17,134£5,480£2,633£182,920
2022-2351£163,153£16,722£5,910£2,170£187,955
2023-2451£170,614£16,714£6,330£2,227£195,885
2024-2545£189,928£13,491£6,593£2,106£212,118
2025-2620£3,792£6,870£10,662

A year in which Sir Julian Lewis 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, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll15£1,862,193
Pooled Services: Direct6£18,812
Pooled Staffing Services2£7,838
Pooled staffing services2£5,263

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent104£78,559
Rent49£58,221
Pooled staffing services5£15,444
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage30£9,872
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental154£9,255
Equipment - purchase17£4,413

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Service Charges36£31,893
Service charge & ground Rent35£29,404
Council Tax10£10,149
Council tax5£7,078
Utilities9£5,381
Water9£4,163

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs9£26,949
Mileage - car18£7,259
Rail9£4,497
Railcard2£140
Mileage - motorcycle3£31
Other public transport1£6

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Contingency1£4

Largest claims, 2010-11 to 2025-26

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 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£184,665£184,665
31 March 2024StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£170,614£170,614
31 March 2023StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year£163,153£163,153
31 March 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£157,672£157,672
31 March 2021StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year£137,758£137,758
31 March 2020StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year£127,557£127,557
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£125,070£125,070
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£116,128£116,128
31 March 2017StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year£102,865£102,865
31 March 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£101,591£101,591
31 March 2015StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2014-15 year£99,895£99,895
31 March 2014StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2013-14 year£98,983£98,983
31 March 2013StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2012-13 year£98,056£98,056
31 March 2012StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2011-12 year£97,227£97,227
31 March 2011StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2010-11 year£80,959£80,959

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 Julian Lewis 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 Julian Lewis’s register of interests and votes · Sources