MPs’ business costs

Dame Nia Griffith

IPSA paid £2,911,548 against 2,237 published rows for Dame Nia Griffith between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Llanelli 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

177 claims, £188,100 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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.4£153,13281.4%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.160£24,28712.9%
TravelJourneys 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£9,1824.9%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.12£1,4980.8%

Every year in the register

Dame Nia Griffith’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1156£91,889£15,897£8,676£116,462
2011-12119£138,862£21,374£9,472£169,708
2012-13199£122,356£22,850£6,312£151,518
2013-14328£147,920£22,449£5,874£176,243
2014-15138£138,377£22,092£7,257£167,726
2015-16119£142,667£21,408£7,084£171,159
2016-17124£140,792£25,224£8,655£991£175,662
2017-18170£150,900£23,663£8,158£261£182,983
2018-19177£153,132£24,287£9,182£1,498£188,100
2019-20180£153,531£20,261£9,084£595£183,471
2020-21139£171,009£24,436£3,358£804£199,607
2021-22103£190,806£19,793£5,253£487£216,339
2022-23114£218,139£22,814£6,768£1,233£248,954
2023-24113£234,084£23,079£9,313£1,532£268,008
2024-25109£240,751£28,339£9,103£1,108£279,301
2025-2649£14,399£1,905£16,304

A year in which Dame Nia Griffith 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 typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£153,002
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT1£113
Public Tr UND Volunteer1£13
Food & Drink Volunteer1£4

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Professional Services: Direct1£4,800
Const Office Rent5£4,452
Stationery Purchase17£3,820
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental17£2,607
IT/Other Equipment Hire10£2,197
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting29£1,116

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£9,182

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Translation Costs12£1,498

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£153,002£153,002
31 March 2019TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2018-19£9,182£9,182
26 November 2018Office CostsProfessional Services: DirectPRS£4,800£4,800
28 March 2019Office CostsStationery PurchaseXMA Ltd£1,401£1,401
22 November 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,113£1,113
22 August 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,113£1,113
23 May 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,113£1,113
1 April 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£744£744
9 October 2018Office CostsConst Office Tel. Usage/RentalOctober 18 payment card£638£638
18 January 2019Office CostsIT/Other Equipment HirePhoto copier£597£597
31 August 2018Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£554£554
21 May 2018Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£501£501
24 July 2018Office CostsProfessional ServicesJuly payment card£498£498
27 March 2019Office CostsConst Office Tel. Usage/RentalMarch payment card£497£497
11 January 2019Office CostsConst Office Tel. Usage/RentalJanuary 2019 payment card£495£495

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 Dame Nia Griffith 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 · Dame Nia Griffith’s register of interests and votes · Sources