MPs’ business costs

Rachael Maskell

IPSA paid £1,933,610 against 939 published rows for Rachael Maskell between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for York Central 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, 2015-16 to 2025-26

939 claims, £1,933,610 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.14£1,716,83488.8%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.877£183,5049.5%
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.28£29,6551.5%
Starting up and winding upThe one-off costs of opening an office on election and of closing one on leaving. These fall in the years around a general election and are absent from the rest.18£3,2220.2%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£3950.0%

Every year in the register

Rachael Maskell’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsTravelStarting up and winding upMiscellaneousTotal
2015-1688£98,039£7,917£3,412£2,538£111,907
2016-17147£129,119£21,440£4,542£685£155,786
2017-18116£137,733£18,058£2,986£158,777
2018-1997£136,711£20,416£3,284£160,411
2019-2080£139,151£14,735£3,801£157,687
2020-2157£187,031£15,538£627£203,196
2021-2259£200,451£17,822£1,582£225£220,079
2022-2373£221,375£22,242£3,761£247,379
2023-2460£236,160£13,903£3,107£253,170
2024-25102£231,064£23,052£2,554£170£256,839
2025-2660£8,380£8,380

A year in which Rachael Maskell 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, 2015-16 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll10£1,705,180
Pooled Services: Direct1£4,800
Pooled staffing services1£4,600
Working From Home Allowance2£2,254

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent26£25,649
Pooled staffing services6£21,100
Stationery & printing73£19,315
Const Office Rent30£18,311
Software & applications123£10,931
Stationery Purchase63£7,339

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail17£15,144
Aggregated Travel Costs4£14,224
Other public transport6£285
Hotel - European1£2

Starting up and winding up

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Office Furn Purch StartUp5£1,298
Office Alterations StartUp3£980
Office Consumables StartUp1£300
Landline Purch StartUp1£300
Other Equipment Purch StartUp6£220
Printer Purchase StartUp1£70

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removals2£395

Largest claims, 2015-16 to 2025-26

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 2024StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£234,276£234,276
31 March 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£226,094£226,094
31 March 2023StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year£221,375£221,375
31 March 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£200,451£200,451
31 March 2021StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year£187,031£187,031
31 March 2020StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year£139,151£139,151
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£136,711£136,711
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£132,933£132,933
31 March 2017StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year£129,119£129,119
31 March 2016StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2015-16 year£98,039£98,039
31 March 2025Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£5,614£5,614
31 March 2022Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£5,045£5,045
1 April 2018Office CostsProfessional Services: DirectPRS£4,800£4,800
28 April 2017StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRS£4,800£4,800
12 April 2024StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£4,600£4,600

Claims refused and money repaid, 2015-16 to 2025-26

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £65 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Rachael Maskell 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 · Rachael Maskell’s register of interests and votes · Sources