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, 2025-26

62 claims, £24,334 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
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	29	£16,286	66.9%
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.	28	£5,916	24.3%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	5	£2,132	8.8%

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, 2025-26

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

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Postage & couriers	3	£8,181
Stationery & printing	24	£7,822
Venue hire, meetings & surgeries	2	£282

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Utilities	22	£2,847
Council tax	5	£2,132
Insurance - buildings	1	£937

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council tax	5	£2,132

Largest claims, 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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
6 March 2026	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	Delivering Newsletter	£3,704	£3,704
7 November 2025	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	Delivering newsletter	£3,013	£3,013
6 March 2026	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printing newsletter	£2,861	£2,861
6 March 2026	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	Delivering Newsletter	£1,464	£1,464
7 November 2025	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printing newsletter	£1,341	£1,341
4 September 2025	Accommodation	Insurance - buildings	FRONTIER INSURANCE	£937	£937
2 January 2026	Accommodation	Council tax	Council tax	£506	£506
1 December 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	Council Tax	£506	£506
3 November 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	NYC Council Tax	£506	£506
1 October 2025	Miscellaneous	Council tax	NYC Council Tax [200012904-1]	£506	£506
1 September 2025	Miscellaneous	Council tax	NYC Council Tax [200012904-1]	£506	£506
1 August 2025	Miscellaneous	Council tax	NYC Council Tax [200012904-1]	£506	£506
1 July 2025	Miscellaneous	Council tax	Council Tax [200012904-1]	£506	£506
9 January 2026	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	XMA February 2026	£408	£408
2 June 2025	Accommodation	Council tax	North Yorkshire Council Tax [200012904-0]	£399	£399

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