MPs’ business costs

Neil O'Brien

IPSA paid £1,913,250 against 1,174 published rows for Neil O'Brien between 2017-18 and 2025-26 as the member for Harborough CC, then Harborough, Oadby and Wigston 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, 2018-19

122 claims, £204,457 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	£152,900	74.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	82	£17,509	8.6%
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.	37	£20,833	10.2%
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	£9,501	4.6%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£3,715	1.8%

Every year in the register

Neil O'Brien’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2017-18 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	Miscellaneous	Total
2017-18	78	£112,975	£9,115	£11,990	£7,286	—	£141,366
2018-19	122	£152,900	£17,509	£20,833	£9,501	£3,715	£204,457
2019-20	169	£158,736	£16,749	£28,804	£11,579	£3,072	£218,940
2020-21	148	£172,470	£17,372	£27,024	£4,989	—	£221,854
2021-22	150	£169,648	£18,684	£27,510	£12,556	—	£228,399
2022-23	148	£217,283	£12,224	£27,782	£16,234	£1,440	£274,963
2023-24	143	£222,505	£24,748	£32,844	£15,890	—	£295,986
2024-25	148	£242,307	£25,424	£32,656	£11,949	—	£312,336
2025-26	68	£1,200	£10,862	£2,887	—	—	£14,948

A year in which Neil O'Brien 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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£152,900

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery Purchase	15	£5,190
Professional Services: Direct	1	£3,100
Const Office Rent 2	1	£2,600
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	11	£1,799
Computer SW Purchase	22	£1,085
Business Rates	1	£746

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	16	£18,540
Council Tax	2	£1,626
Telephone Usage/Rental	11	£398
Gas	4	£167
Electricity	4	£102

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£9,501

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£3,715

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£152,900	£152,900
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£9,501	£9,501
21 February 2019	Miscellaneous Expenses	Removal Costs - Contingency	280219 Removal costs	£3,715	£3,715
11 May 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£3,100	£3,100
31 March 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	Accrual adjustment	£2,600	£2,600
15 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	150219 Accom rent BR	£2,100	£2,100
15 January 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	150119 Accom Rent BR	£2,100	£2,100
15 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	191218 Accom Rent BR Nov-Dec	£2,100	£2,100
11 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	231118 Accom rent Nov/Dec	£2,000	£2,000
10 April 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	110518 Recon card April 2018	£1,554	£1,554
1 April 2018	Accommodation	Council Tax	050418 Recon card March 2017	£1,322	£1,322
19 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	191018 Accom rent	£1,200	£1,200
19 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	190918 Accom rent	£1,200	£1,200
19 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	190818 Accom rent	£1,200	£1,200
19 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	200718 Accom rent	£1,200	£1,200

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 Neil O'Brien 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 · Neil O'Brien’s register of interests and votes · Sources