MPs’ business costs

Steve Reed

IPSA paid £2,513,608 against 1,134 published rows for Steve Reed between 2012-13 and 2025-26 as the member for Croydon North BC, then Streatham and Croydon North 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, 2020-21

80 claims, £223,512 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.	2	£195,716	87.6%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	77	£27,463	12.3%
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	£333	0.1%

Every year in the register

Steve Reed’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	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2012-13	75	£33,387	£2,192	—	—	—	£35,579
2013-14	159	£141,696	£24,882	—	£4,488	—	£171,066
2014-15	105	£142,011	£23,366	£54	—	—	£165,431
2015-16	91	£143,005	£25,308	£72	—	—	£168,385
2016-17	78	£145,250	£25,441	£21	—	—	£170,712
2017-18	73	£156,682	£22,521	£29	—	—	£179,231
2018-19	61	£160,592	£24,562	—	—	—	£185,154
2019-20	65	£163,954	£24,223	£160	—	—	£188,337
2020-21	80	£195,716	£27,463	£333	—	—	£223,512
2021-22	76	£207,265	£24,106	£30	—	—	£231,401
2022-23	92	£194,785	£28,135	—	—	£1,440	£224,360
2023-24	85	£234,582	£26,496	£444	—	—	£261,522
2024-25	59	£257,111	£35,994	—	—	£2,046	£295,150
2025-26	35	£1,837	£11,932	—	—	—	£13,769

A year in which Steve Reed 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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£195,101
Training - staff	1	£615

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	4	£12,480
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	25	£3,667
Equipment - purchase	13	£2,924
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,591
Stationery & printing	7	£1,537
Cleaning services	6	£1,124

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Congestion charge & toll	1	£333

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£195,101	£195,101
2 March 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,120	£3,120
30 December 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,120	£3,120
1 September 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,120	£3,120
3 June 2020	Office Costs	Rent	—	£3,120	£3,120
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for 2020-21	£1,591	£1,591
2 February 2021	Office Costs	Advertising and contact cards	Constituency Office Sign	£628	£628
30 November 2020	Staffing	Training - staff	WESTMINSTERSKILLCENTRE	£615	£615
16 January 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£609	£609
16 August 2020	Office Costs	Software & applications	Caseworker annual hosting renewal	£600	£600
4 January 2021	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£559	£559
1 February 2021	Office Costs	Insurance - contents	Constituency office insurance	£539	£539
9 April 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£539	£539
18 November 2020	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	WWW.TONERGIANT.CO.UK	£465	£465
24 June 2020	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printing invitations to virtual residents' meeting	£427	£427

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 Reed 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 Reed’s register of interests and votes · Sources