MPs’ business costs

Liam Byrne

IPSA paid £3,213,954 against 4,414 published rows for Liam Byrne between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill BC, then Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North 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, 2013-14

286 claims, £185,964 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.	67	£135,661	73.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	179	£21,893	11.8%
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.	39	£17,620	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.	1	£10,790	5.8%

Every year in the register

Liam Byrne’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	152	£93,877	£19,582	£17,382	£5,904	—	£136,745
2011-12	170	£114,362	£19,971	£19,618	£7,363	—	£161,314
2012-13	248	£135,297	£21,280	£17,716	£12,278	£665	£187,236
2013-14	286	£135,661	£21,893	£17,620	£10,790	—	£185,964
2014-15	327	£136,456	£22,493	£17,160	£9,182	—	£185,291
2015-16	372	£139,051	£22,872	£17,831	£9,581	—	£189,335
2016-17	327	£141,394	£22,554	£15,845	£14,241	—	£194,034
2017-18	387	£150,405	£23,845	£18,788	£8,648	—	£201,686
2018-19	299	£153,071	£24,695	£19,728	£13,034	—	£210,528
2019-20	351	£152,743	£28,021	£23,531	£12,436	—	£216,732
2020-21	226	£167,849	£24,796	£19,261	£2,183	—	£214,089
2021-22	273	£166,759	£29,453	£20,735	£8,653	—	£225,600
2022-23	312	£210,626	£26,137	£21,172	£9,554	—	£267,489
2023-24	304	£235,380	£32,298	£17,897	£9,290	—	£294,865
2024-25	238	£224,123	£32,946	£19,690	£8,405	—	£285,164
2025-26	142	£30,701	£20,504	£6,677	—	—	£57,882

A year in which Liam Byrne 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, 2013-14

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£135,140
Public Tr UND Volunteer	20	£373
Food & Drink Volunteer	40	£90
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	6	£58

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	5	£6,001
Stationery Purchase	57	£3,419
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	38	£3,363
IT/Other Equipment Hire	10	£3,296
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	12	£1,110
Postage Purchase	12	£981

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£15,858
Council Tax	1	£990
Electricity	12	£443
Internet	13	£223
Hotel NOT London Area	1	£106

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£10,790

Largest claims, 2013-14

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 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£135,140	£135,140
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£10,790	£10,790
19 December 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,500	£1,500
18 September 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,500	£1,500
18 June 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,500	£1,500
1 April 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,370	£1,370
25 February 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
24 January 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
19 December 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
25 November 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
24 October 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
24 September 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
27 August 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
24 July 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322
24 June 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,322	£1,322

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 Liam Byrne 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 · Liam Byrne’s register of interests and votes · Sources