MPs’ business costs

Seema Malhotra

IPSA paid £2,709,790 against 2,124 published rows for Seema Malhotra between 2011-12 and 2025-26 as the member for Feltham and Heston 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

202 claims, £180,131 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.	117	£159,199	88.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	83	£18,889	10.5%
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	£974	0.5%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£1,069	0.6%

Every year in the register

Seema Malhotra’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2011-12 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
2011-12	4	£16,673	£615	—	—	—	£17,288
2012-13	237	£109,370	£17,596	£145	£1,556	—	£128,666
2013-14	169	£142,281	£18,023	£298	—	—	£160,602
2014-15	113	£145,426	£25,821	£689	—	£503	£172,439
2015-16	170	£144,795	£25,236	—	—	—	£170,031
2016-17	140	£146,863	£25,462	£350	—	—	£172,675
2017-18	135	£161,114	£26,475	£241	—	—	£187,829
2018-19	202	£159,199	£18,889	£974	—	£1,069	£180,131
2019-20	158	£170,466	£24,094	£536	—	—	£195,097
2020-21	97	£203,154	£29,049	—	—	—	£232,203
2021-22	105	£218,187	£37,794	£339	—	£2,993	£259,314
2022-23	178	£231,556	£26,018	£5,705	—	£1,440	£264,720
2023-24	187	£259,214	£34,935	£3,294	—	—	£297,443
2024-25	155	£222,976	£32,739	£629	—	—	£256,343
2025-26	74	£4,119	£10,889	—	—	—	£15,009

A year in which Seema Malhotra 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	£152,495
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Professional Services (Staff.)	4	£1,072
Food & Drink Volunteer	63	£436
Public Tr UND Volunteer	34	£233
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	8	£95

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	11	£9,766
Professional Services	10	£3,662
Stationery Purchase	38	£3,521
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	16	£866
Computer SW Purchase	2	£535
Const Office Buildings Insur.	1	£381

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£974

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£1,069

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	£152,495	£152,495
1 April 2018	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	—	£4,800	£4,800
18 March 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,651	£1,651
29 January 2019	Miscellaneous Expenses	Removal Costs - Contingency	Constituency office	£1,069	£1,069
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£974	£974
6 December 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
8 November 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
6 October 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
6 September 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
8 August 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
11 July 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
12 June 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
9 May 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
9 April 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£849	£849
26 March 2019	Office Costs	Professional Services	consultancy services	£720	£720

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 Seema Malhotra 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 · Seema Malhotra’s register of interests and votes · Sources