MPs’ business costs

Karin Smyth

IPSA paid £2,193,974 against 1,250 published rows for Karin Smyth between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Bristol South BC. 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, 2024-25

93 claims, £291,724 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.	3	£237,127	81.3%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	59	£17,542	6.0%
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.	20	£27,774	9.5%
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.	9	£7,152	2.5%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£2,130	0.7%

Every year in the register

Karin Smyth’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2015-16	198	£113,254	£18,055	£8,073	£4,727	£2,022	—	£146,131
2016-17	114	£140,398	£15,542	£20,658	£7,476	£2,245	—	£186,318
2017-18	134	£146,466	£15,097	£18,411	£2,550	—	—	£182,524
2018-19	141	£151,660	£23,749	£15,450	£4,192	—	—	£195,051
2019-20	132	£153,985	£19,010	£14,275	£4,336	—	—	£191,606
2020-21	93	£174,124	£23,106	£25,282	£2,057	—	—	£224,569
2021-22	106	£178,721	£25,580	£27,441	£3,589	—	—	£235,331
2022-23	102	£203,462	£24,764	£27,443	£4,986	—	—	£260,655
2023-24	86	£210,170	£27,988	£25,052	£5,301	—	£912	£269,423
2024-25	93	£237,127	£17,542	£27,774	£7,152	—	£2,130	£291,724
2025-26	51	£2,250	£5,622	£2,770	—	—	—	£10,642

A year in which Karin Smyth 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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£232,431
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,600
Training - staff	1	£96

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£11,377
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	15	£1,688
Equipment - purchase	11	£1,067
Cleaning services	6	£972
Software & applications	2	£791
Stationery & printing	9	£554

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	14	£26,400
Council tax	1	£730
Utilities	5	£644

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	3	£6,204
Hotel - London	1	£585
Vehicle hire cost	2	£228
Railcard	1	£70
Mileage - car	1	£42
Parking	1	£23

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	2	£2,130

Largest claims, 2024-25

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 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£232,431	£232,431
31 March 2025	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25	£11,377	£11,377
31 March 2025	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£5,342	£5,342
12 April 2024	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,600	£4,600
1 April 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
4 March 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
4 February 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
6 January 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
3 December 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
5 November 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
1 October 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
3 September 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
1 August 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
2 July 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200
4 June 2024	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,200	£2,200

Claims refused and money repaid, 2024-25

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £40 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Karin Smyth 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 · Karin Smyth’s register of interests and votes · Sources