MPs’ business costs

Naz Shah

IPSA paid £2,349,157 against 739 published rows for Naz Shah between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Bradford West 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, 2017-18

60 claims, £205,066 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	£150,882	73.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	39	£21,116	10.3%
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.	17	£28,350	13.8%
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	£4,718	2.3%

Every year in the register

Naz Shah’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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
2015-16	64	£94,955	£9,810	£24,177	£7,809	£2,195	—	£138,947
2016-17	85	£136,507	£18,725	£28,070	£8,819	—	—	£192,121
2017-18	60	£150,882	£21,116	£28,350	£4,718	—	—	£205,066
2018-19	74	£138,290	£14,462	£37,648	£18,114	—	—	£208,513
2019-20	109	£138,945	£26,537	£38,607	£14,296	—	—	£218,385
2020-21	50	£173,918	£20,339	£37,610	£4,622	—	—	£236,489
2021-22	43	£176,431	£19,698	£39,143	£6,591	—	—	£241,862
2022-23	86	£193,435	£30,915	£38,235	£7,748	—	£960	£271,293
2023-24	86	£228,849	£31,177	£37,855	£10,689	—	£310	£308,879
2024-25	52	£231,152	£24,422	£40,314	£16,562	—	—	£312,451
2025-26	30	£2,980	£7,156	£4,665	—	—	£350	£15,151

A year in which Naz Shah 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	£148,224
Health and Welfare Costs	1	£2,178
Staff Training Costs	1	£480

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£8,245
Professional Services	3	£7,255
Computer HW Purchase	5	£1,576
Training MP Staff	1	£1,200
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	4	£1,038
Stationery Purchase	5	£738

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£22,911
Service Charges	2	£3,217
Council Tax	1	£1,923
Electricity	1	£299

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£4,718

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	£148,224	£148,224
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£4,718	£4,718
19 March 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	research and training	£3,720	£3,720
27 March 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services	research and training	£3,500	£3,500
20 March 2018	Accommodation	Service Charges	card recon	£2,817	£2,817
5 July 2017	Staffing	Health and Welfare Costs	card recon	£2,178	£2,178
19 April 2017	Accommodation	Council Tax	card recon	£1,923	£1,923
2 March 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
21 January 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
21 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
4 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
3 November 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
3 October 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
6 September 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863
2 August 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,863	£1,863

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 Naz Shah 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 · Naz Shah’s register of interests and votes · Sources