MPs’ business costs

Tim Farron

IPSA paid £3,209,313 against 1,786 published rows for Tim Farron between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Westmorland and Lonsdale 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, 2011-12

124 claims, £158,846 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.	33	£111,005	69.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	76	£19,926	12.5%
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.	14	£20,006	12.6%
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	£7,908	5.0%

Every year in the register

Tim Farron’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	119	£96,479	£17,753	£14,535	£10,030	£411	£139,208
2011-12	124	£111,005	£19,926	£20,006	£7,908	—	£158,846
2012-13	127	£136,463	£19,967	£18,762	£9,159	—	£184,351
2013-14	112	£136,584	£23,157	£17,160	£10,310	—	£187,210
2014-15	81	£134,656	£12,025	£19,708	£10,996	—	£177,385
2015-16	78	£120,843	£18,507	£20,409	£9,613	—	£169,371
2016-17	125	£140,665	£18,964	£18,919	£12,085	—	£190,633
2017-18	192	£149,957	£29,895	£19,726	£11,236	—	£210,814
2018-19	95	£153,457	£23,306	£20,180	£11,596	—	£208,540
2019-20	82	£155,505	£16,891	£20,287	£13,900	—	£206,584
2020-21	107	£185,937	£37,297	£19,952	£8,115	—	£251,300
2021-22	119	£201,771	£19,329	£16,243	£11,932	—	£249,275
2022-23	156	£217,736	£24,515	£16,330	£17,673	—	£276,254
2023-24	178	£229,454	£26,505	£17,500	£15,193	—	£288,651
2024-25	78	£247,878	£27,748	£17,438	£13,070	—	£306,133
2025-26	13	—	£1,876	£2,881	—	—	£4,757

A year in which Tim Farron 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£104,715
Professional Services (Staff.)	2	£5,492
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	6	£521
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	4	£141
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	16	£70
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG	1	£46

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	3	£7,804
Professional Services	1	£2,481
Other	26	£2,226
Stationery Purchase	10	£1,631
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	4	£1,563
Computer HW Purchase	3	£1,535

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£17,160
Council Tax	2	£2,846

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,908

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£104,715	£104,715
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£7,908	£7,908
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent and service costs	£6,000	£6,000
30 March 2012	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	Staffing assistance	£4,292	£4,292
1 June 2011	Office Costs	Professional Services	POLD Charges	£2,481	£2,481
20 January 2012	Accommodation	Council Tax	Council Tax	£2,406	£2,406
30 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent and service costs	£1,559	£1,559
20 March 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 February 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 January 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 December 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 November 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 October 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 September 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
24 August 2011	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430

Claims refused and money repaid, 2011-12

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £16 not paid and £0 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 Tim Farron 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 · Tim Farron’s register of interests and votes · Sources