MPs’ business costs

Maria Eagle

IPSA paid £2,822,911 against 1,583 published rows for Maria Eagle between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Garston and Halewood BC, then Liverpool Garston 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, 2011-12

110 claims, £147,550 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	£121,040	82.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	58	£12,046	8.2%
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.	50	£7,274	4.9%
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	£7,191	4.9%

Every year in the register

Maria Eagle’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	Total
2010-11	87	£96,750	£8,451	£4,368	£6,285	£115,855
2011-12	110	£121,040	£12,046	£7,274	£7,191	£147,550
2012-13	128	£132,224	£16,375	£3,313	£8,322	£160,234
2013-14	127	£137,144	£18,542	£6,770	£6,332	£168,788
2014-15	140	£133,767	£22,920	£5,150	£7,212	£169,049
2015-16	98	£138,856	£15,324	£4,707	£7,254	£166,141
2016-17	109	£141,551	£18,394	£4,910	£6,933	£171,788
2017-18	115	£150,791	£23,367	£3,569	£5,000	£182,727
2018-19	120	£150,840	£20,703	£5,548	£6,577	£183,669
2019-20	108	£135,092	£15,463	£5,243	£6,334	£162,131
2020-21	103	£159,294	£17,136	£5,031	£1,583	£183,043
2021-22	84	£193,494	£16,818	£5,275	£2,864	£218,450
2022-23	100	£219,388	£17,589	£5,887	£4,523	£247,387
2023-24	81	£231,134	£19,985	£6,178	£3,345	£260,643
2024-25	53	£249,211	£15,826	£6,122	£2,660	£273,819
2025-26	20	—	£5,534	£6,102	—	£11,636

A year in which Maria Eagle 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£121,040

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£4,380
Other	13	£1,650
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	12	£1,375
Computer HW Purchase	1	£988
Computer SW Purchase	1	£935
Stationery Purchase	5	£755

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	11	£2,685
Gas	8	£1,704
Service Charges	12	£1,615
Water	9	£819
Telephone Usage/Rental	8	£332
Electricity	2	£118

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,191

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£121,040	£121,040
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£7,191	£7,191
27 March 2012	Accommodation	Council Tax	Travelcard March/April 2012	£1,341	£1,341
29 March 2012	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Office Equipment	£988	£988
7 July 2011	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	07/01/2011	£935	£935
20 September 2011	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL Insurance	£636	£636
30 November 2011	Office Costs	Other	Office Supplies Oct 2011	£553	£553
21 March 2012	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Office Costs Feb 2012	£504	£504
24 March 2012	Accommodation	Water	Travelcard March/April 2012	£425	£425
21 March 2012	Office Costs	Other	Office Costs Feb 2012	£380	£380
20 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£365	£365
24 February 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£365	£365
24 January 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£365	£365
24 December 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£365	£365
24 November 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£365	£365

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 Maria Eagle 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 · Maria Eagle’s register of interests and votes · Sources