MPs’ business costs

Suella Braverman

IPSA paid £1,687,338 against 1,098 published rows for Suella Braverman between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Fareham CC, then Fareham and Waterlooville 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

115 claims, £159,726 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.	5	£135,884	85.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	45	£16,662	10.4%
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.	64	£3,897	2.4%
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	£3,282	2.1%

Every year in the register

Suella Braverman’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	79	£82,132	£14,113	£10,734	£2,939	£4,540	—	£114,458
2016-17	93	£125,270	£17,154	£11,907	£4,259	£300	—	£158,890
2017-18	69	£136,919	£13,430	£8,535	£3,078	—	—	£161,963
2018-19	115	£135,884	£16,662	£3,897	£3,282	—	—	£159,726
2019-20	116	£118,707	£15,996	£5,724	£2,918	—	—	£143,345
2020-21	100	£139,004	£20,261	£5,332	£1,375	—	—	£165,972
2021-22	98	£161,945	£11,868	£5,426	£1,616	—	—	£180,856
2022-23	123	£147,486	£14,267	£5,955	£1,887	—	—	£169,595
2023-24	107	£157,101	£11,665	£6,306	£730	—	£912	£176,715
2024-25	148	£214,698	£17,460	£6,408	£2,315	—	—	£240,882
2025-26	50	—	£9,415	£4,627	—	—	£895	£14,937

A year in which Suella Braverman 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	£135,823
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT	1	£47
Food & Drink Volunteer	3	£14

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	3	£5,015
Professional Services: Direct	1	£3,127
Training MP Staff	4	£2,137
Stationery Purchase	15	£1,718
Newspapers/Journals	3	£1,141
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	8	£994

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	2	£2,355
Water	11	£475
Internet	17	£333
Electricity	13	£266
Gas	13	£252
Telephone Usage/Rental	7	£157

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£3,282

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	£135,823	£135,823
25 April 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£4,188	£4,188
31 March 2019	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2018-19	£3,282	£3,282
11 May 2018	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	PRU	£3,127	£3,127
16 October 2018	Accommodation	Service Charges	Associated - Service Charge	£1,200	£1,200
1 April 2018	Accommodation	Service Charges	Service Charge 25/03-28/09	£1,155	£1,155
1 April 2018	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Staff Training	£943	£943
11 May 2018	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
6 September 2018	Office Costs	Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	Credit Card Sep 18	£675	£675
3 September 2018	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Credit Card Sep 18	£654	£654
5 December 2018	Office Costs	Newspapers/Journals	Card Payment December 2018	£636	£636
8 February 2019	Office Costs	Training	Credit Card February 2019	£627	£627
1 April 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£476	£476
6 December 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£422	£422
16 July 2018	Office Costs	Training MP Staff	Credit Card July 2018	£379	£379

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 Suella Braverman 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 · Suella Braverman’s register of interests and votes · Sources