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, 2015-16

74 claims, £122,888 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	£104,568	85.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	59	£12,117	9.9%
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.	12	£3,698	3.0%
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	£2,505	2.0%

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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	79	£84,837	£10,811	£7,401	£3,348	—	£106,397
2011-12	84	£101,187	£11,836	£6,926	£3,893	—	£123,842
2012-13	79	£102,016	£13,182	£5,950	£3,287	—	£124,434
2013-14	80	£102,943	£12,087	£7,193	£3,372	—	£125,595
2014-15	79	£102,477	£11,850	£6,595	£3,708	£4	£124,634
2015-16	74	£104,568	£12,117	£3,698	£2,505	—	£122,888
2016-17	74	£105,526	£10,975	£8,562	£2,649	—	£127,713
2017-18	76	£118,800	£12,698	£4,122	£1,816	—	£137,436
2018-19	76	£125,070	£15,582	£5,148	£2,370	—	£148,171
2019-20	72	£127,557	£15,845	£5,270	£1,632	—	£150,304
2020-21	61	£137,758	£15,738	£5,410	£1,169	—	£160,075
2021-22	53	£157,672	£17,134	£5,480	£2,633	—	£182,920
2022-23	51	£163,153	£16,722	£5,910	£2,170	—	£187,955
2023-24	51	£170,614	£16,714	£6,330	£2,227	—	£195,885
2024-25	45	£189,928	£13,491	£6,593	£2,106	—	£212,118
2025-26	20	—	£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, 2015-16

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£101,591
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,977

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£9,350
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	23	£1,153
Stationery Purchase	6	£640
Computer HW Purchase	1	£365
Advertising	10	£252
Other Equip Purchase	1	£148

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	3	£2,588
Ground Rent	3	£400
Electricity	2	£390
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£320

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£2,505

Largest claims, 2015-16

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 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£101,591	£101,591
24 July 2015	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,977	£2,977
31 March 2016	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2015-16	£2,505	£2,505
19 September 2015	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£926	£926
22 December 2015	Accommodation	Service Charges	SERVICE CHARGE	£909	£909
25 February 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
27 January 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
25 December 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
25 November 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
27 October 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
24 September 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
27 August 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
27 July 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
6 July 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779
1 June 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£779	£779

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