MPs’ business costs

Stephen Kinnock

IPSA paid £2,177,284 against 1,361 published rows for Stephen Kinnock between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Aberavon CC, then Aberafan Maesteg 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, 2018-19

143 claims, £206,590 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.	4	£153,247	74.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	124	£23,250	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.	12	£19,708	9.5%
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	£10,116	4.9%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£269	0.1%

Every year in the register

Stephen Kinnock’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	145	£107,112	£19,265	£5,032	£6,278	£4,582	—	£142,269
2016-17	106	£119,922	£19,461	£3,962	£7,519	—	—	£150,864
2017-18	124	£132,907	£21,856	£4,590	£4,503	—	—	£163,856
2018-19	143	£153,247	£23,250	£19,708	£10,116	—	£269	£206,590
2019-20	136	£149,418	£22,997	£22,848	£9,142	—	—	£204,405
2020-21	113	£168,584	£20,137	£22,848	£1,927	—	—	£213,497
2021-22	118	£161,150	£22,560	£22,725	£3,959	—	—	£210,394
2022-23	162	£212,464	£25,112	£22,848	£7,676	—	—	£268,100
2023-24	156	£235,783	£25,187	£26,832	£7,154	—	—	£294,956
2024-25	109	£247,551	£26,071	£29,290	£8,773	—	—	£311,684
2025-26	49	£660	£10,011	—	—	—	—	£10,671

A year in which Stephen Kinnock 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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£148,172
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	2	£274

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	14	£13,405
Stationery Purchase	34	£2,265
IT/Other Equipment Hire	4	£1,470
Advertising	14	£1,225
Other	9	£1,145
Const Office Electricity	4	£952

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	8	£15,232
Ground Rent	2	£3,808
Electricity	2	£668

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£10,116

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	2	£269

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year	£148,172	£148,172
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£10,116	£10,116
1 April 2018	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
3 March 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation March 2019	£1,904	£1,904
3 February 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation February 2019	£1,904	£1,904
3 January 2019	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation January 2019	£1,904	£1,904
3 December 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation December 2018	£1,904	£1,904
3 November 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation November 2018	£1,904	£1,904
3 October 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation October 2018	£1,904	£1,904
3 September 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation September 2018	£1,904	£1,904
3 August 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Accommodation August 2018	£1,904	£1,904
3 July 2018	Accommodation	Ground Rent	Accommodation June and July 20	£1,904	£1,904
3 June 2018	Accommodation	Ground Rent	Accommodation June and July 20	£1,904	£1,904
26 February 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,142	£1,142
29 January 2019	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,142	£1,142

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 Kinnock 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 Kinnock’s register of interests and votes · Sources