MPs’ business costs

Sir Nicholas Dakin

IPSA paid £2,053,714 against 2,750 published rows for Sir Nicholas Dakin between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Scunthorpe 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, 2024-25

201 claims, £208,373 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.	17	£147,978	71.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	148	£30,038	14.4%
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	£17,191	8.2%
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.	14	£13,167	6.3%

Every year in the register

Sir Nicholas Dakin’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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	130	£84,153	£17,543	£15,334	£7,352	—	—	£124,382
2011-12	337	£107,414	£20,704	£21,305	£9,398	—	£90	£158,910
2012-13	404	£135,927	£21,449	£20,595	£12,427	—	—	£190,399
2013-14	219	£126,084	£21,496	£20,088	£10,430	—	—	£178,098
2014-15	195	£134,296	£20,133	£20,600	£9,665	—	—	£184,695
2015-16	185	£129,029	£23,348	£20,569	£8,065	—	£264	£181,276
2016-17	238	£141,266	£23,265	£20,610	£9,310	—	—	£194,451
2017-18	263	£150,078	£24,418	£20,818	£10,380	—	—	£205,694
2018-19	300	£150,871	£24,783	£21,614	£10,181	—	—	£207,449
2019-20	192	£104,708	£11,962	£18,033	£4,881	£33,362	£28,588	£201,534
2020-21	3	—	—	£-3,756	—	—	£327	£-3,428
2024-25	201	£147,978	£30,038	£17,191	£13,167	—	—	£208,373
2025-26	83	£400	£18,395	£3,087	—	—	—	£21,882

A year in which Sir Nicholas Dakin 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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£140,928
Training - staff	14	£3,998
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,000
Working From Home Allowance	1	£52

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Equipment - purchase	19	£5,387
Rent	4	£5,267
Stationery & printing	70	£5,100
Postage & couriers	3	£4,900
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	2	£2,422
Software & applications	11	£2,358

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	8	£14,457
Hotel - London	4	£1,822
Council tax	1	£596
Utilities	9	£315

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	4	£5,999
Mileage - car	5	£3,194
Hotel - London	2	£2,356
Hotel - UK Not London	1	£909
Parking	1	£704
Congestion charge & toll	1	£6

Largest claims, 2024-25

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 2025	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year	£140,928	£140,928
28 January 2025	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	AGA PRINT LTD	£4,900	£4,900
31 March 2025	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£4,110	£4,110
29 January 2025	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	STANNP.COM	£3,584	£3,584
3 October 2024	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£3,000	£3,000
6 November 2024	Office Costs	Rent	[*]Faster Payment Form - First QTR Rent - [*]	£2,941	£2,941
14 March 2025	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	NORTH LINCS SAND AND G [200011726-4036]	£2,414	£2,414
1 April 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
4 March 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
30 January 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
16 January 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
16 January 2025	Accommodation	Rent	—	£2,383	£2,383
17 October 2024	Accommodation	Rent	[***]	£2,383	£2,383
24 September 2024	Accommodation	Rent	[*]Nicholas Dakin-[*]-1st rent	£2,383	£2,383
31 March 2025	Staff Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2024-25	£2,188	£2,188

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 Nicholas Dakin 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 Nicholas Dakin’s register of interests and votes · Sources