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, 2020-21

153 claims, £211,062 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	£184,998	87.7%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	126	£20,461	9.7%
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.	20	£2,315	1.1%
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.	6	£3,288	1.6%

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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£184,998

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	11	£6,325
Equipment - purchase	1	£3,636
Stationery & printing	83	£3,491
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,047
Advertising and contact cards	3	£1,572
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,389

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	10	£1,750
Insurance - buildings	10	£565

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	3	£1,920
Railcard	1	£858
Parking	1	£340
Hotel - UK Not London	1	£170

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£184,998	£184,998
4 November 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£3,636	£3,636
27 May 2020	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Policy Research Unit (Conservative)	£3,047	£3,047
31 March 2021	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2020-21	£1,628	£1,628
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for 2020-21	£1,389	£1,389
31 March 2021	MP Travel	Railcard	Aggregated figure for travel during 2020-21	£858	£858
22 May 2020	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	JPIM ADVERTISING	£804	£804
22 May 2020	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	NEWSQUEST MEDIA	£768	£768
4 May 2020	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
2 March 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575
2 February 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575
6 January 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575
1 December 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575
1 November 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575
4 October 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£575	£575

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