MPs’ business costs

Sir Mel Stride

IPSA paid £2,425,586 against 2,128 published rows for Sir Mel Stride between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Central Devon CC. 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, 2017-18

141 claims, £141,185 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	£121,396	86.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	117	£13,337	9.4%
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.	22	£2,358	1.7%
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	£4,093	2.9%

Every year in the register

Sir Mel Stride’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	131	£84,723	£14,369	—	£5,724	£104,816
2011-12	142	£101,641	£10,469	£14,754	£6,836	£133,701
2012-13	178	£117,775	£10,307	£8,827	£7,161	£144,069
2013-14	140	£122,678	£8,371	£5,307	£6,902	£143,258
2014-15	132	£117,837	£11,514	—	£6,446	£135,797
2015-16	127	£105,982	£15,167	—	£3,194	£124,342
2016-17	95	£123,496	£9,218	—	£5,078	£137,792
2017-18	141	£121,396	£13,337	£2,358	£4,093	£141,185
2018-19	139	£135,641	£8,385	£4,057	£4,438	£152,521
2019-20	146	£145,220	£11,964	£3,069	£4,106	£164,360
2020-21	131	£169,976	£11,011	£4,141	£811	£185,938
2021-22	104	£162,114	£8,124	£4,076	£2,823	£177,136
2022-23	133	£189,779	£8,736	£8,532	£3,889	£210,936
2023-24	164	£198,413	£4,373	£19,101	£3,878	£225,764
2024-25	188	£199,284	£11,627	£21,947	£3,717	£236,575
2025-26	37	—	£3,618	£3,778	—	£7,396

A year in which Sir Mel Stride 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£121,396

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£4,262
Professional Services: Direct	1	£2,767
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	60	£2,267
Stationery Purchase	6	£1,616
Computer SW Purchase	3	£1,007
Install/Maint Office Equip.	1	£239

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	8	£1,117
Telephone Usage/Rental	9	£401
Buildings Insurance	2	£336
Electricity	1	£269
Water	2	£235

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£4,093

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£121,396	£121,396
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£4,093	£4,093
30 June 2017	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£2,767	£2,767
15 December 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£965	£965
30 June 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
26 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Parl Office Costs to 25 Feb 18	£600	£600
26 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Parl Office Costs to 25 Feb 18	£600	£600
13 November 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constit Office Costs to Dec 17	£600	£600
2 November 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constit Office Costs to Aug 17	£558	£558
2 November 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constit Office Costs to Aug 17	£480	£480
27 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constit Office Costs to Jun 17	£480	£480
20 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constit Office Costs to Dec 17	£480	£480
10 April 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£364	£364
14 September 2017	Accommodation	Electricity	Accommodation to 7 Nov	£269	£269
21 September 2017	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	Accommodation to 7 Nov	£246	£246

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 Sir Mel Stride 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 · Sir Mel Stride’s register of interests and votes · Sources