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, 2021-22

105 claims, £259,314 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.	3	£218,187	84.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	98	£37,794	14.6%
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.	3	£339	0.1%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£2,993	1.2%

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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£215,975
Bought-in services	2	£2,213

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Bought-in services	26	£13,916
Rent	1	£7,956
Equipment - purchase	14	£4,351
Pooled staffing services	1	£4,200
Working From Home Allowance	1	£2,358
Training - staff	2	£1,500

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	3	£339

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£2,993

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	£215,975	£215,975
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£7,956	£7,956
2 September 2021	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£4,200	£4,200
31 March 2022	Miscellaneous	Payroll	Total other staff payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£2,993	£2,993
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£2,358	£2,358
9 November 2021	Staffing	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£1,813	£1,813
30 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	HIVE SUPPORT LTD	£1,170	£1,170
30 March 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£908	£908
30 March 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£908	£908
30 March 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£908	£908
30 March 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£908	£908
17 November 2021	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£800	£800
8 March 2022	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£700	£700
7 February 2022	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Professional & consultancy	£700	£700
4 January 2022	Office Costs	Bought-in services	Administrative services	£700	£700

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