MPs’ business costs

Stephanie Peacock

IPSA paid £1,806,458 against 1,024 published rows for Stephanie Peacock between 2017-18 and 2025-26 as the member for Barnsley East CC, then Barnsley South 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, 2017-18 to 2025-26

1,024 claims, £1,806,458 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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.30£1,407,66677.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.708£200,06411.1%
AccommodationThe 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.207£146,4808.1%
TravelJourneys 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.77£51,7082.9%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£5400.0%

Every year in the register

Stephanie Peacock’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2017-18 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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2017-18129£98,089£23,605£14,505£3,859£140,059
2018-19165£153,614£22,090£16,814£7,669£200,188
2019-20161£149,319£21,701£15,406£8,189£194,614
2020-2187£157,359£19,317£16,636£3,693£197,005
2021-2288£182,872£32,314£16,683£7,705£540£240,114
2022-23117£214,993£26,153£18,800£7,313£267,260
2023-24122£221,910£24,832£23,294£6,808£276,844
2024-25109£229,510£22,491£23,024£6,472£281,496
2025-2646£7,561£1,318£8,879

A year in which Stephanie Peacock 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, 2017-18 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll8£1,386,492
Professional Services (Staff.)5£15,000
Bought-in services1£3,000
Training - staff5£2,337
Health and Welfare Costs6£700
Staff Training Costs1£250

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent51£58,228
Pooled staffing services6£22,600
Utilities57£17,116
Const Office Rent22£14,401
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage73£10,123
Equipment - purchase50£9,421

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent50£104,957
Accommodation Rent26£26,936
Council tax23£6,116
Utilities76£4,087
Council Tax17£1,582
Hotel London Area3£1,350

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail19£22,492
Aggregated Travel Costs2£11,528
Hotel - London6£6,761
Mileage - car18£6,567
Parking16£2,020
Air travel2£1,421

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removals2£540

Largest claims, 2017-18 to 2025-26

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£229,510£229,510
31 March 2024StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year£221,160£221,160
31 March 2023StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2022-23 year£214,603£214,603
31 March 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£181,660£181,660
31 March 2021StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year£157,334£157,334
31 March 2020StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year£146,290£146,290
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£141,557£141,557
31 March 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£94,378£94,378
31 March 2025AccommodationRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£21,746£21,746
31 March 2022AccommodationRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£15,174£15,174
31 March 2025Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£10,500£10,500
31 March 2022Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£9,578£9,578
31 March 2019TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2018-19£7,669£7,669
1 April 2018Office CostsProfessional Services: DirectPRS£4,800£4,800
12 April 2024Office CostsPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£4,600£4,600

Claims refused and money repaid, 2017-18 to 2025-26

5 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £762 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Stephanie Peacock 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 · Stephanie Peacock’s register of interests and votes · Sources