South Essex's MP's expense claims for the last financial year

The basic annual salary for MPs is £84,144, but they also receive expenses “for expenditure for parliamentary purposes”.

This can include the costs of running an office, employing staff, travelling between Parliament and their constituency, food, iPads and telephone calls.

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MPs can also claim for rent or hotel accommodation as well as expenses for a second home.

What MPs use their expenses for is regulated and published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) – formed following the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal which saw six MPs and peers jailed.

Below are the IPSA records for south Essex’s MPs for the financial year 2021/22:

• Stephen Metcalfe – £15,502.53

South Basildon and East Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe’s expenses bill for the financial year 2021/21 totalled £15,502.53

The Conservative’s main expenses were for office costs, totalling £15,286.81.

He claimed £6,900 on rent for his constituency office, £2,366.40 on “casework software”, and £864 on data storage space.

The MP, who has represented his constituency since 2010, claimed a further £2,988.00 for police research.

He claimed back £280.79 for a printer, photocopier and scanner, and £869.33 for a landline phone and internet usage for his office for the year.

Mr Metcalfe spent £215.72 on a hotel stay outside of London in September 2021.

The previous financial year he was given £1,477.19 by IPSA to fund setting up his staff working from during the pandemic.

He said: “The amount cited, which was taken from the working from home allowance budget, was a small amount paid to each of my staff – not me – monthly to help them cover the additional cost of working from home.”

• Rebecca Harris – £8,515.47

The Castle Point MP was south Essex’s most frugal expenses claimer .

Ms Harris, elected at the 2010 general election, claimed £7,290.17 on office costs in 2020/21.

The Tory MP, also a senior Government whip, claimed £1,225.30 on staffing costs, most of which went towards funding travel and food for staff members.

She said: ““Personally, I do not claim any permittible [sic] expenses such as help with housing costs, travel expenses or late-night subsistence and taxis for when the House of Commons sits late into the night.

“The only costs I claimed in the last session were my office admin costs, staff salaries and the travel and subsistence costs for local youngsters on work experience.”

• Sir James Duddridge – £27,024

South Essex’s biggest expenses spender was Rochford and Southend East MP Sir James Duddridge.

Like most MPs, the majority of Sir James’s expenses were filed under office costs.

He claimed £12,500 on rent for his constituency office, plus £2,040.31 on utilities bills for the office.

The MP, who served as a minister until recently and as an aide to Boris Johnson, claimed £1,081.73 for software and applications including Adobe Creative Cloud, Mailchimp and Elected Technologies – a casework management program.

Under office costs, he further claimed £159 for a television licence, £300 for website hosting and design, and £520.82 for a mobile phone.

Newly-knighted Sir James claimed £2,988 on policy research and £242.50 on staff travel from between Westminster and his constituency.

He spent a further £944.50 on 50 rail journeys of his own, mostly between Thorpe Bay and London.

Sir James said: “I have, and will continue only to make claims on my expenses which enable my office and I to serve the people of Rochford and Southend East.”

• John Baron – £10,195.60

Basildon and Billericay MP John Baron’s expenses were among the lowest in south Essex.

An MP since 2001, Mr Baron claimed just £57.20 across the year for staff travel.

He claimed two return rail tickets from London to Billericay, costing £20.60 apiece, for office staff members on July 16, 2021.

That same day he also claimed a £16 taxi journey.

The majority of Mr Baron’s expense claims came under office costs.

He claimed £6,300 in rent for his constituency office and £443.86 in utilities bills.

In one of his larger expenses, Mr Baron’s office shelled out £1,158 on printing and stationary, including a £643.02 bill for printer ink in April 2021.

He further claimed £21.15 for printer ink for a home computer in December.

Under office expenses, Mr Baron also claimed £135.73 on Jabra headphones.

His landline phone and internet office costs totalled £924.58.

• Jackie Doyle-Price – £20,101.52

Thurrock MP Jackie-Doyle Price clocked the second highest expenses bill of south Essex MPs.

Ms Doyle-Price’s top claim was office costs, at £16,918.97.

The MP, elected to Parliament in the 2010 general election, claimed £907.85 on a laptop, PC, tablet and accessories in March 2021.

For 12 months of internet and landline phone costs, Ms Doyle-Price claimed £869.33.

Money claimed for rent for her constituency office tallied £6,900, with the MP’s office claiming an extra £5259.83 for software and applications, including a £1,020 payment to Paypal and £864 for data storage space.

The Thurrock MP claimed £2,531.96 expenses on stationary and printing, including a £410.83 bill to www.printerland.co.uk in March 29.

Ms Doyle-Price claimed £2,988 for policy research, similar to the rest of south Essex’s MPs.

Her staff travel costs totalled £194.55, with £134.55 spent on mileage £60 on congestion charge and tolls.

In the previous financial year the Tory MP had received £1,643.03 from ISPA’s working from home scheme as MPs and their offices adapted to the coronavirus pandemic.