MPs’ business costs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

IPSA paid £3,163,569 against 3,892 published rows for Mrs Sharon Hodgson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Washington and Sunderland West BC, then Washington and Gateshead South 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, 2016-17

129 claims, £192,114 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.	8	£136,220	70.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	87	£21,751	11.3%
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.	31	£20,797	10.8%
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	£11,512	6.0%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£1,835	1.0%

Every year in the register

Mrs Sharon Hodgson’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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	281	£95,553	£16,202	£19,712	£10,604	£1,602	£143,673
2011-12	264	£114,965	£23,123	£23,897	£13,778	—	£175,763
2012-13	344	£127,655	£22,044	£19,368	£12,659	—	£181,726
2013-14	868	£137,371	£22,261	£20,671	£15,014	—	£195,316
2014-15	426	£137,145	£22,900	£18,912	£12,794	—	£191,751
2015-16	421	£136,084	£21,153	£19,003	£8,472	—	£184,712
2016-17	129	£136,220	£21,751	£20,797	£11,512	£1,835	£192,114
2017-18	247	£143,941	£21,429	£21,732	£9,644	—	£196,746
2018-19	120	£150,694	£23,449	£20,631	£12,583	—	£207,356
2019-20	156	£154,022	£24,433	£21,243	£12,703	—	£212,400
2020-21	104	£177,167	£20,830	£20,236	£-109	—	£218,124
2021-22	113	£174,530	£24,988	£22,717	£11,455	—	£233,690
2022-23	137	£202,560	£24,225	£22,565	£14,251	—	£263,602
2023-24	129	£220,157	£23,103	£21,580	£10,199	—	£275,039
2024-25	113	£224,704	£22,977	£23,609	£11,128	—	£282,418
2025-26	40	—	£5,982	£3,158	—	—	£9,140

A year in which Mrs Sharon Hodgson 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£136,191
Own Vehicle Car Volunteer	5	£23
Food & Drink Volunteer	2	£6

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	12	£12,000
Professional Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Stationery Purchase	26	£1,514
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	14	£913
Computer SW Purchase	1	£850
Software Purchase	1	£350

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	14	£18,844
Council Tax	2	£1,258
Electricity	11	£450
Gas	2	£145
Water	1	£81
Telephone Usage/Rental	1	£20

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£11,512

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£1,561
Contingency	1	£274

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£136,191	£136,191
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£11,512	£11,512
29 April 2016	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
2 December 2016	Miscellaneous Expenses	Removal Costs - Contingency	2016 11 25-12 21 paymentcard	£1,561	£1,561
25 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,530	£1,530
20 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,530	£1,530
1 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	2016 12 01 accommodation rent	£1,530	£1,530
10 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
11 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
6 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
9 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
12 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
7 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
11 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475
13 April 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,475	£1,475

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 Mrs Sharon Hodgson 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 · Mrs Sharon Hodgson’s register of interests and votes · Sources