MPs’ business costs

Mary Creagh

IPSA paid £1,851,128 against 1,906 published rows for Mary Creagh between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Wakefield CC, then Coventry 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, 2013-14

259 claims, £160,208 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.	69	£126,182	78.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	131	£19,443	12.1%
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.	57	£3,947	2.5%
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	£10,502	6.6%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£134	0.1%

Every year in the register

Mary Creagh’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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	135	£86,182	£17,533	£11,448	£10,604	—	—	£125,766
2011-12	194	£108,942	£19,000	£13,253	£8,887	—	—	£150,082
2012-13	179	£109,161	£22,086	£8,850	£11,278	—	—	£151,375
2013-14	259	£126,182	£19,443	£3,947	£10,502	—	£134	£160,208
2014-15	180	£128,472	£21,145	£3,837	£8,232	—	—	£161,686
2015-16	154	£129,630	£21,411	£3,354	£6,823	—	—	£161,219
2016-17	141	£139,132	£20,955	£13,508	£7,653	—	£1,405	£182,653
2017-18	132	£135,459	£21,554	£15,095	£5,187	—	—	£177,295
2018-19	115	£147,783	£24,340	£14,787	£8,319	—	—	£195,229
2019-20	183	£106,696	£11,976	£11,098	£5,950	£33,711	£4,725	£174,156
2020-21	4	—	—	—	—	—	£678	£678
2024-25	150	£126,785	£29,381	£13,836	£3,393	—	—	£173,395
2025-26	80	£5,130	£29,625	£2,631	—	—	—	£37,387

A year in which Mary Creagh 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	£120,932
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	7	£127
Food & Drink Volunteer	30	£110
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG	13	£89
Taxi Volunteer	6	£79

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	1	£7,000
Stationery Purchase	67	£3,447
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	20	£2,762
Website - Design/Production	2	£1,254
Training MP Staff	3	£844
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£578

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	10	£1,309
Gas	11	£1,148
Buildings Insurance	12	£1,101
Telephone Usage/Rental	12	£293
Water	12	£96

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£10,502

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Expense Outside Scheme	1	£134

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	£120,932	£120,932
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£10,502	£10,502
1 April 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency office rent	£7,000	£7,000
25 April 2013	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS subscription	£4,800	£4,800
16 August 2013	Office Costs	Website - Design/Production	Office costs August	£870	£870
3 December 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Q-Connect Premium Copier/Laser Paper A4 80gsm White 5 Reams KF01088A KF01088A 8	£593	£593
9 August 2013	Office Costs	Legal Expenses Insurance	EPL	£578	£578
7 November 2013	Office Costs	Parliamentary Accountancy	Office Costs October/Nov	£570	£570
7 October 2013	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Office costs September	£510	£510
11 November 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Payment card Oct/Nov	£442	£442
13 February 2014	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Payment card Jan-Feb	£435	£435
8 August 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Payment card August	£403	£403
24 May 2013	Office Costs	Website - Design/Production	Office costs - website	£384	£384
29 July 2013	Office Costs	Furniture Purchase	Storage EACH	£360	£360
30 May 2013	Office Costs	Software Purchase	Office Costs May	£350	£350

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 Mary Creagh 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 · Mary Creagh’s register of interests and votes · Sources