MPs’ business costs

Karl Turner

IPSA paid £2,740,595 against 2,765 published rows for Karl Turner between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Kingston upon Hull East 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, 2012-13

139 claims, £146,514 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	£115,821	79.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	81	£11,610	7.9%
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.	55	£13,676	9.3%
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	£5,125	3.5%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£283	0.2%

Every year in the register

Karl Turner’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	125	£68,375	£17,308	£11,949	£6,760	—	£104,391
2011-12	137	£103,461	£13,497	£13,430	£5,109	—	£135,497
2012-13	139	£115,821	£11,610	£13,676	£5,125	£283	£146,514
2013-14	233	£141,117	£17,449	£15,257	£8,313	—	£182,136
2014-15	197	£134,683	£18,627	£18,024	£7,357	—	£178,691
2015-16	166	£115,424	£16,934	£20,067	£7,582	—	£160,007
2016-17	158	£110,305	£16,476	£18,468	£9,496	—	£154,746
2017-18	121	£121,736	£18,123	£19,565	£4,394	—	£163,818
2018-19	127	£134,671	£19,707	£20,800	£6,248	—	£181,425
2019-20	236	£148,846	£25,547	£20,532	£7,407	—	£202,332
2020-21	198	£176,015	£25,543	£20,718	£1,531	—	£223,806
2021-22	189	£160,798	£21,427	£21,279	£3,901	—	£207,405
2022-23	185	£182,706	£21,770	£21,721	£5,752	—	£231,949
2023-24	277	£174,979	£28,193	£20,870	£5,633	—	£229,675
2024-25	198	£158,271	£29,619	£21,336	£9,730	—	£218,957
2025-26	79	—	£17,080	£2,165	—	—	£19,245

A year in which Karl Turner 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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£115,821

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£4,815
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	30	£3,017
Stationery Purchase	19	£1,584
Internet Access Installation	2	£468
IT/Other Equipment Hire	1	£335
Other Equip Purchase	1	£300

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£11,340
Council Tax	12	£1,478
Gas	4	£429
Electricity	4	£164
Television Licence	11	£133
Home Contents Insurance	12	£131

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£5,125

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£283

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£115,821	£115,821
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£5,125	£5,125
21 March 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
21 February 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
24 January 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
19 December 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
23 November 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
19 October 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
22 September 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
22 August 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
23 July 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
19 June 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
23 May 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
25 April 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£945	£945
16 May 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Office Costs April May 12	£435	£435

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 Karl Turner 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 · Karl Turner’s register of interests and votes · Sources