MPs’ business costs

Sir Julian Smith

IPSA paid £2,690,912 against 1,784 published rows for Sir Julian Smith between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Skipton and Ripon 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, 2017-18

123 claims, £160,092 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.	1	£137,386	85.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	83	£12,813	8.0%
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.	38	£3,161	2.0%
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	£6,731	4.2%

Every year in the register

Sir Julian Smith’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	50	£85,933	£7,449	—	£3,788	—	£97,170
2011-12	74	£118,172	£11,453	—	£7,903	—	£137,528
2012-13	159	£131,119	£16,030	—	£7,478	—	£154,626
2013-14	168	£141,194	£17,581	—	£10,234	—	£169,009
2014-15	116	£141,413	£15,059	—	£13,326	—	£169,799
2015-16	117	£134,280	£20,211	—	£9,112	—	£163,603
2016-17	112	£134,236	£14,015	£1,255	£10,979	—	£160,485
2017-18	123	£137,386	£12,813	£3,161	£6,731	—	£160,092
2018-19	117	£150,386	£15,563	£2,375	£4,903	£303	£173,531
2019-20	139	£151,776	£12,499	£2,596	£3,226	£175	£170,272
2020-21	153	£184,998	£20,461	£2,315	£3,288	—	£211,062
2021-22	82	£191,637	£13,997	£2,270	£5,724	—	£213,629
2022-23	98	£184,586	£15,337	£2,766	£9,271	—	£211,960
2023-24	87	£191,164	£13,982	£2,540	£6,468	—	£214,154
2024-25	127	£224,087	£19,162	£3,845	£12,565	—	£259,659
2025-26	62	—	£16,286	£5,916	—	£2,132	£24,334

A year in which Sir Julian Smith 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£137,386

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	5	£4,980
Professional Services: Direct	1	£2,680
Stationery Purchase	17	£2,531
Computer SW Purchase	1	£900
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	31	£784
Const Office Electricity	4	£639

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	10	£1,535
Buildings Insurance	11	£584
Gas	2	£305
Electricity	2	£270
Water	2	£258
Telephone Usage/Rental	11	£209

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,731

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£137,386	£137,386
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£6,731	£6,731
27 April 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£2,680	£2,680
3 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,245	£1,245
5 July 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,245	£1,245
5 April 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,245	£1,245
21 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,136	£1,136
27 April 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
25 September 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£358	£358
6 February 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£260	£260
5 April 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Electricity	MP Payment Card	£225	£225
10 October 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£211	£211
16 August 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£211	£211
20 June 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£211	£211
20 April 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£211	£211

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 Smith 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 Smith’s register of interests and votes · Sources