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, 2016-17

141 claims, £182,653 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.	3	£139,132	76.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	77	£20,955	11.5%
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.	59	£13,508	7.4%
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.	1	£7,653	4.2%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£1,405	0.8%

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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£138,973
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£90
Staff Training Costs	1	£70

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	2	£7,000
Professional Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Stationery Purchase	25	£3,357
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	18	£2,927
Parliamentary Accountancy	1	£612
Computer SW Purchase	3	£594

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	10	£10,110
Council Tax	11	£1,675
Gas	10	£1,089
Telephone Usage/Rental	13	£296
Buildings Insurance	2	£148
Water	12	£130

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,653

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£1,405

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£138,973	£138,973
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£7,653	£7,653
1 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£6,425	£6,425
29 April 2016	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
23 May 2016	Miscellaneous Expenses	Removal Costs - Contingency	Removal costs	£1,405	£1,405
1 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	payment card May/June	£1,155	£1,155
24 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
25 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
20 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
25 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
26 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
27 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
24 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
29 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995
29 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£995	£995

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