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, 2021-22

59 claims, £220,079 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.	1	£200,451	91.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	56	£17,822	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	£1,582	0.7%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£225	0.1%

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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2015-16	88	£98,039	£7,917	£3,412	£2,538	—	£111,907
2016-17	147	£129,119	£21,440	£4,542	£685	—	£155,786
2017-18	116	£137,733	£18,058	£2,986	—	—	£158,777
2018-19	97	£136,711	£20,416	£3,284	—	—	£160,411
2019-20	80	£139,151	£14,735	£3,801	—	—	£157,687
2020-21	57	£187,031	£15,538	£627	—	—	£203,196
2021-22	59	£200,451	£17,822	£1,582	—	£225	£220,079
2022-23	73	£221,375	£22,242	£3,761	—	—	£247,379
2023-24	60	£236,160	£13,903	£3,107	—	—	£253,170
2024-25	102	£231,064	£23,052	£2,554	—	£170	£256,839
2025-26	60	—	£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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£200,451

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£5,045
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,200
Working From Home Allowance	1	£2,457
Software & applications	14	£1,284
Stationery & printing	14	£1,072
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	3	£1,061

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	1	£1,582

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£225

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£200,451	£200,451
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£5,045	£5,045
27 April 2021	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,200	£4,200
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£2,457	£2,457
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£1,582	£1,582
29 September 2021	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
30 July 2021	Office Costs	Mobile telephone - contract & usage	Constituency Office Telephone	£409	£409
21 September 2021	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£380	£380
6 December 2021	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£361	£361
20 September 2021	Office Costs	Insurance - buildings	Constituency Office Insurance	£321	£321
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Insurance - contents	Office contents insurance	£321	£321
7 April 2021	Office Costs	Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	Landline	£320	£320
20 September 2021	Office Costs	Utilities	Electricity	£272	£272
25 November 2021	Miscellaneous	Removals	Constituency Office Removal	£225	£225
17 January 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£222	£222

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