MPs’ business costs

Stephen Doughty

IPSA paid £2,632,640 against 1,331 published rows for Stephen Doughty between 2012-13 and 2025-26 as the member for Cardiff South and Penarth 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, 2015-16

83 claims, £174,770 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	£134,499	77.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	55	£23,040	13.2%
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.	22	£10,055	5.8%
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	£6,402	3.7%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£773	0.4%

Every year in the register

Stephen Doughty’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2012-13 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
2012-13	80	£33,142	£6,799	£7,536	£2,617	£4,318	—	£54,411
2013-14	157	£134,633	£21,866	£19,322	£6,878	£1,570	£425	£184,693
2014-15	125	£137,166	£22,871	£15,540	£7,583	—	—	£183,160
2015-16	83	£134,499	£23,040	£10,055	£6,402	—	£773	£174,770
2016-17	92	£141,211	£22,791	£17,691	£5,929	—	£150	£187,771
2017-18	78	£148,393	£20,013	£19,606	£7,321	—	—	£195,334
2018-19	95	£152,153	£23,340	£21,686	£10,930	—	£234	£208,343
2019-20	121	£155,785	£19,550	£18,968	£9,407	—	—	£203,710
2020-21	115	£178,442	£26,095	£23,211	£3,622	—	—	£231,370
2021-22	76	£169,774	£12,458	£22,893	£3,170	—	—	£208,296
2022-23	98	£198,594	£8,651	£10,271	£7,130	—	—	£224,646
2023-24	118	£233,800	£19,324	£13,527	£10,421	—	£247	£277,319
2024-25	83	£242,313	£18,713	£22,686	£10,614	—	£567	£294,894
2025-26	10	—	£3,922	—	—	—	—	£3,922

A year in which Stephen Doughty 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, 2015-16

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£134,144
Public Tr UND Volunteer	1	£195
Food & Drink Volunteer	1	£160

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	4	£8,250
Professional Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Business Rates	5	£4,507
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	11	£1,781
Const Office Electricity	4	£769
Stationery Purchase	11	£708

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£8,737
Council Tax	3	£567
Service Charges	2	£501
Hotel London Area	3	£149
Water	1	£72
Electricity	1	£29

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,402

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Contingency	2	£773

Largest claims, 2015-16

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 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£134,144	£134,144
31 March 2016	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2015-16	£6,402	£6,402
30 June 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
8 December 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Const office rent q/c Dec 15	£2,063	£2,063
22 September 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency office rent	£2,063	£2,063
18 June 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Const Office Rent - Jun-Aug 15	£2,063	£2,063
6 April 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Costs - March-May 2015	£2,063	£2,063
8 February 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,329	£1,329
12 January 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,329	£1,329
30 October 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	[***]	£1,329	£1,329
27 July 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,119	£1,119
6 July 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,119	£1,119
1 June 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,119	£1,119
1 May 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,119	£1,119
1 April 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,119	£1,119

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 Stephen Doughty 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 · Stephen Doughty’s register of interests and votes · Sources