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, 2019-20

169 claims, £218,940 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	£158,736	72.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	94	£16,749	7.7%
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.	64	£28,804	13.2%
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.	9	£11,579	5.3%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£3,072	1.4%

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, 2019-20

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£158,736

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery & printing	26	£3,604
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,142
Advertising and contact cards	17	£3,080
Bought-in services	11	£2,940
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	17	£1,170
Equipment - purchase	4	£988

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	14	£26,148
Utilities	25	£1,105
Council tax	12	£1,089
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	13	£462

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	4	£8,638
Parking	2	£2,018
Mileage - car	2	£764
Other public transport	1	£160

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Reward and Recognition	1	£3,072

Largest claims, 2019-20

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 2020	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year	£158,736	£158,736
31 March 2020	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2019-20	£6,555	£6,555
15 May 2019	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Policy Research Unit (Conservative)	£3,142	£3,142
31 March 2020	Miscellaneous	Reward and Recognition	—	£3,072	£3,072
15 February 2020	Accommodation	Rent	Accommodation rent February - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
17 January 2020	Accommodation	Rent	Accommodation rent January - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
16 December 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accommodation rent December - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 November 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent November - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 October 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent October - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 September 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent September - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 August 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent August - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 July 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent July - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 June 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent 15 June - documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
16 May 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent 15 May - 14 June. Documents already supplied	£2,100	£2,100
15 April 2019	Accommodation	Rent	Accom rent 15 April - 14 May. Documents already supplied.	£2,100	£2,100

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