MPs’ business costs

Lucy Powell

IPSA paid £2,438,587 against 1,042 published rows for Lucy Powell between 2012-13 and 2025-26 as the member for Manchester Central 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 to 2025-26

1,042 claims, £2,438,587 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.	47	£2,049,407	84.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	866	£269,581	11.1%
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.	73	£8,634	0.4%
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.	45	£104,654	4.3%
Starting up and winding up	The one-off costs of opening an office on election and of closing one on leaving. These fall in the years around a general election and are absent from the rest.	10	£5,270	0.2%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£1,041	0.0%

Every year in the register

Lucy Powell’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2012-13 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
2012-13	70	£30,274	£2,408	£2,589	£3,356	£2,371	—	£40,998
2013-14	189	£135,008	£20,199	£3,464	£7,187	£2,899	—	£168,757
2014-15	122	£136,702	£18,143	£2,581	£7,228	—	—	£164,653
2015-16	72	£125,223	£18,657	—	£8,016	—	—	£151,895
2016-17	65	£139,255	£23,083	—	£7,718	—	—	£170,055
2017-18	53	£146,482	£22,541	—	£8,540	—	—	£177,564
2018-19	57	£163,487	£20,784	—	£10,458	—	—	£194,729
2019-20	52	£155,930	£14,021	—	£6,371	—	—	£176,321
2020-21	63	£177,932	£21,058	—	£5,432	—	—	£204,422
2021-22	47	£188,547	£14,913	—	£7,416	—	—	£210,877
2022-23	62	£217,064	£25,337	—	£9,913	—	—	£252,313
2023-24	74	£231,207	£21,675	—	£10,491	—	—	£263,373
2024-25	82	£202,296	£39,729	—	£12,529	—	—	£254,554
2025-26	34	—	£7,035	—	—	—	£1,041	£8,076

A year in which Lucy Powell 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 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	13	£2,016,343
Bought-in services	9	£15,000
Pooled staffing services	5	£8,800
Pooled Services	10	£8,800
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£400
Public Tr COACH Int/Volntr	5	£37

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	30	£72,074
Const Office Rent	31	£55,900
IT/Other Equipment Hire	84	£21,960
Equipment - purchase	41	£14,491
Professional Services: Direct	3	£14,400
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	137	£13,760

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	3	£2,880
Council Tax	10	£2,562
Gas	21	£1,554
Water	18	£719
Telephone Usage/Rental	19	£609
Home Contents Insurance	1	£236

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	7	£52,503
Rail	20	£49,889
Parking	8	£835
Mileage - car	3	£649
Hotel - UK Not London	2	£282
Railcard	1	£198

Starting up and winding up

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Comp HW Purch StartUp	3	£2,414
Office Furn Purch StartUp	3	£1,438
Shredder Purch Startup	1	£455
Website Design StartUp	1	£400
Training for MP Staff StartUp	1	£384
Photocopier Purch StartUp	1	£180

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£1,041

Largest claims, 2012-13 to 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
31 March 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£231,207	£231,207
31 March 2023	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year	£217,064	£217,064
31 March 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£197,696	£197,696
31 March 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£184,347	£184,347
31 March 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£163,487	£163,487
31 March 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£162,932	£162,932
31 March 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£155,930	£155,930
31 March 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£146,482	£146,482
31 March 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£139,255	£139,255
31 March 2015	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2014-15 year	£133,102	£133,102
31 March 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£130,565	£130,565
31 March 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£125,201	£125,201
31 March 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£29,074	£29,074
31 March 2025	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£11,202	£11,202
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£10,458	£10,458

Claims refused and money repaid, 2012-13 to 2025-26

13 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £4,465 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 Lucy Powell 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 · Lucy Powell’s register of interests and votes · Sources