MPs’ business costs

Pamela Nash

IPSA paid £969,131 against 906 published rows for Pamela Nash between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Airdrie and Shotts CC, then Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke 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, 2011-12

148 claims, £149,090 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.	14	£83,709	56.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	110	£25,671	17.2%
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.	20	£18,104	12.1%
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	£14,326	9.6%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	3	£7,280	4.9%

Every year in the register

Pamela Nash’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	67	£51,797	£10,285	£16,400	£6,783	—	—	£85,264
2011-12	148	£83,709	£25,671	£18,104	£14,326	—	£7,280	£149,090
2012-13	185	£117,104	£22,984	£23,570	£18,899	—	£282	£182,839
2013-14	192	£120,542	£20,047	£20,764	£17,009	—	—	£178,362
2014-15	169	£132,827	£21,536	£19,257	£20,499	—	—	£194,119
2015-16	54	£13,489	£2,535	£1,859	£1,508	£46,917	£3,862	£70,170
2024-25	67	£63,996	£7,560	£18,847	£11,835	—	—	£102,238
2025-26	24	—	£5,257	£1,791	—	—	—	£7,048

A year in which Pamela Nash 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£83,502
Public Tr RAIL Int/Volntr - RT	9	£192
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	4	£14

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	5	£8,014
Other	41	£6,604
Stationery Purchase	16	£2,458
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	10	£1,876
Const Office Electricity	9	£1,749
Computer HW Purchase	3	£1,418

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£17,400
Electricity	4	£421
Television Licence	1	£146
Gas	3	£138

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£14,326

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Contingency	3	£7,280

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£83,502	£83,502
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£14,326	£14,326
19 October 2011	Miscellaneous Expenses	Contingency	Contingency Claim for Hetaing	£3,552	£3,552
19 October 2011	Office Costs	Other	Contingency Claim	£3,552	£3,552
21 November 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£2,000	£2,000
21 August 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£2,000	£2,000
31 May 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£2,000	£2,000
3 November 2011	Miscellaneous Expenses	Contingency	Contingency- Gas fitting	£1,988	£1,988
19 October 2011	Office Costs	Other	Contingency Claim	£1,988	£1,988
19 January 2012	Miscellaneous Expenses	Contingency	Office Shutters	£1,740	£1,740
20 March 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
24 February 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
24 January 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
24 December 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
24 November 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450

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 Pamela Nash 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 · Pamela Nash’s register of interests and votes · Sources