MPs’ business costs

Richard Fuller

IPSA paid £2,295,368 against 2,135 published rows for Richard Fuller between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Bedford BC, then North East Bedfordshire CC, then North Bedfordshire 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, 2012-13

229 claims, £142,269 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.	2	£106,631	75.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	204	£13,940	9.8%
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	£19,935	14.0%
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	£1,763	1.2%

Every year in the register

Richard Fuller’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	136	£72,119	£9,570	£8,597	£2,285	—	—	£92,571
2011-12	193	£94,452	£14,461	£19,729	£1,809	—	—	£130,451
2012-13	229	£106,631	£13,940	£19,935	£1,763	—	—	£142,269
2013-14	228	£110,116	£13,570	£19,760	£1,571	—	—	£145,017
2014-15	211	£111,075	£12,767	£19,405	£1,364	—	—	£144,612
2015-16	195	£130,249	£13,130	£20,028	£1,340	—	—	£164,747
2016-17	185	£129,532	£17,064	£20,532	£2,137	—	—	£169,265
2017-18	78	£24,119	£2,236	£4,383	£154	£44,789	£6,174	£81,855
2019-20	49	£34,378	£3,865	£4,123	£1,419	—	—	£43,786
2020-21	94	£160,836	£16,317	£22,216	£1,725	—	—	£201,094
2021-22	103	£170,772	£12,556	£19,702	£2,275	—	—	£205,305
2022-23	152	£199,374	£13,240	£19,072	£5,028	—	—	£236,714
2023-24	115	£216,294	£9,982	£24,660	£3,543	—	—	£254,478
2024-25	114	£228,127	£15,847	£26,915	£2,497	—	—	£273,386
2025-26	53	—	£5,238	£4,580	—	—	—	£9,818

A year in which Richard Fuller 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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£102,671
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£3,960

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£6,000
Stationery Purchase	67	£2,689
Computer HW Purchase	1	£902
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	16	£804
Business Rates	10	£648
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£604

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£18,600
Council Tax	10	£1,335

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£1,763

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£102,671	£102,671
7 May 2012	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£3,960	£3,960
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£1,763	£1,763
12 March 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
12 February 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
9 January 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
11 December 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
13 November 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
9 October 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
13 September 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
13 August 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
13 July 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
7 June 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
11 May 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
1 April 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550

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 Richard Fuller 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 · Richard Fuller’s register of interests and votes · Sources