Civometry

MPs’ business costs

Steve Darling

IPSA paid £256,536 against 302 published rows for Steve Darling between 2024-25 and 2025-26 as the member for Torbay 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, 2024-25 to 2025-26

302 claims, £256,536 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.18£181,20470.6%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.224£43,06416.8%
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.43£22,7568.9%
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.16£9,1133.6%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.1£4000.2%

Every year in the register

Steve Darling’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2024-25 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
2024-25203£179,112£26,156£21,118£9,113—£235,499
2025-2699£2,092£16,908£1,637—£400£21,037

A year in which Steve Darling 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, 2024-25 to 2025-26

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£173,863
Pooled staffing services1£4,900
Bought-in services1£2,092
Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs15£349

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent8£9,633
Advertising and contact cards17£6,657
Stationery & printing76£6,571
Equipment - purchase16£3,921
Software & applications5£3,747
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs7£2,829

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent9£19,910
Council tax17£1,830
Utilities17£1,016

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail7£7,032
Hotel - London1£1,004
Hotel - European1£542
Air travel1£279
Other public transport2£130
Hotel - UK Not London1£61

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removals1£400

Largest claims, 2024-25 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£173,863£173,863
3 July 2025StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Support Team (Liberal Democrat)£4,900£4,900
11 September 2024AccommodationRent[***] - Faster Payment Form - First Months Rent - [***]£4,800£4,800
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£3,549£3,549
31 March 2025Staff TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£3,001£3,001
25 March 2025AccommodationRent—£2,400£2,400
25 February 2025AccommodationRent—£2,400£2,400
23 January 2025AccommodationRent—£2,400£2,400
24 December 2024AccommodationRent—£2,400£2,400
26 November 2024AccommodationRent—£2,400£2,400
31 October 2024AccommodationRentPayment was due 23/10/2024.£2,400£2,400
23 July 2024AccommodationRentfirst month´s rent for London flat£2,400£2,400
24 February 2026StaffingBought-in servicesComms & Media£2,092£2,092
17 June 2025Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£1,476£1,476
4 March 2025Office CostsRent—£1,379£1,379

Claims refused and money repaid, 2024-25 to 2025-26

6 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £597 not paid and £1,214 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 Steve Darling 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 · Steve Darling’s register of interests and votes · Sources