MPs’ business costs

Simon Hoare

IPSA paid £2,107,957 against 1,192 published rows for Simon Hoare between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for North Dorset 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, 2023-24

143 claims, £244,408 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	£179,798	73.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	94	£22,228	9.1%
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.	39	£33,658	13.8%
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.	5	£4,455	1.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	4	£4,269	1.7%

Every year in the register

Simon Hoare’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	Accommodation	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2015-16	79	£108,447	£9,117	£17,073	£6,780	£3,259	£3,311	£147,987
2016-17	60	£140,158	£12,436	£18,635	£6,147	—	—	£177,376
2017-18	93	£148,129	£11,524	£32,155	£5,690	—	—	£197,498
2018-19	100	£149,378	£12,529	£32,245	£5,710	—	—	£199,862
2019-20	110	£145,644	£12,953	£32,314	£7,117	—	—	£198,028
2020-21	124	£165,656	£15,893	£32,502	£629	—	—	£214,680
2021-22	113	£158,305	£15,469	£31,400	£4,588	—	—	£209,762
2022-23	122	£164,339	£18,796	£32,997	£4,756	—	—	£220,888
2023-24	143	£179,798	£22,228	£33,658	£4,455	—	£4,269	£244,408
2024-25	159	£210,880	£20,700	£33,514	£5,580	—	£3,535	£274,210
2025-26	89	—	£16,679	£5,911	—	—	£666	£23,256

A year in which Simon Hoare 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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£179,798

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Utilities	22	£6,790
Rent	5	£3,515
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,188
Advertising and contact cards	6	£2,423
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	21	£1,522
Mobile telephone - equipment purchase	2	£1,029

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	12	£27,600
Utilities	17	£3,239
Council tax	10	£2,819

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mileage - car	4	£4,095
Congestion charge & toll	1	£360

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Bought-in services	4	£4,269

Largest claims, 2023-24

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 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£179,798	£179,798
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£3,238	£3,238
18 April 2023	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Policy Research Unit (Conservative)	£3,188	£3,188
1 March 2024	Accommodation	Rent	Rent March 2024	£2,300	£2,300
1 February 2024	Accommodation	Rent	Rent February 2024.	£2,300	£2,300
1 January 2024	Accommodation	Rent	Rent January 2024	£2,300	£2,300
1 December 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent December 2023.	£2,300	£2,300
1 November 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent November 2023.	£2,300	£2,300
1 October 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent October 2023	£2,300	£2,300
1 September 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent September 2023	£2,300	£2,300
1 August 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent August 2023.	£2,300	£2,300
1 July 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent July 2023.	£2,300	£2,300
1 June 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent June 2023	£2,300	£2,300
1 May 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent May 2023.	£2,300	£2,300
1 April 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Rent April 2023	£2,300	£2,300

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 Simon Hoare 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 · Simon Hoare’s register of interests and votes · Sources