MPs’ business costs

Peter Kyle

IPSA paid £2,145,896 against 1,047 published rows for Peter Kyle between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Hove BC, then Hove and Portslade BC. 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

104 claims, £185,529 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.	48	£142,035	76.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	39	£25,189	13.6%
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.	13	£15,043	8.1%
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	£1,838	1.0%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	3	£1,425	0.8%

Every year in the register

Peter Kyle’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 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
2015-16	59	£106,853	£19,553	—	£1,298	£5,815	—	£133,520
2016-17	80	£136,814	£23,450	—	£1,253	£338	—	£161,855
2017-18	64	£134,071	£24,150	£8,486	£1,412	—	—	£168,119
2018-19	104	£142,035	£25,189	£15,043	£1,838	—	£1,425	£185,529
2019-20	133	£149,858	£26,243	£14,300	£2,143	—	—	£192,544
2020-21	89	£172,710	£32,055	£15,600	£353	—	—	£220,719
2021-22	120	£186,474	£29,536	£15,778	£4,869	—	—	£236,657
2022-23	172	£217,681	£27,870	£16,200	£2,302	—	—	£264,053
2023-24	98	£233,210	£30,583	£16,200	£1,528	—	£2,017	£283,537
2024-25	67	£202,745	£32,540	£23,755	£1,619	—	£1,440	£262,101
2025-26	61	£21,402	£14,694	—	—	—	£1,166	£37,262

A year in which Peter Kyle 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	£135,806
Professional Services (Staff.)	5	£3,485
Public Tr UND Volunteer	13	£1,889
Food & Drink Volunteer	26	£799
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	2	£40
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG	1	£17

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent 2	2	£21,368
Stationery Purchase	5	£836
Business Rates	1	£634
Const Office Electricity	4	£506
Const Office Water	5	£425
Const Office Repairs	4	£304

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£14,659
Service Charges	1	£384

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£1,838

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Contingency	2	£1,297
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£128

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	£135,806	£135,806
6 April 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	Backdated Rent Increase	£14,368	£14,368
26 September 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	payment card reconciliation	£7,000	£7,000
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£1,838	£1,838
4 February 2019	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Temp casework staff	£1,750	£1,750
20 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
25 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
25 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
25 July 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
29 June 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
29 May 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
25 April 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
14 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,300	£1,300
9 January 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,300	£1,300
3 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,300	£1,300

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 Peter Kyle 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 · Peter Kyle’s register of interests and votes · Sources