Lancaster and Morecambe MPs' expenses for the last financial year revealed

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) show Lancaster MP Cat Smith's total business costs for the 2019/20 financial year were £204,072.63, while Morecambe MP David Morris's total was slightly lower at £194,722.88.

The pair's costs were above the average for other Members of Parliament elected before December 2019, of £188,295.

By comparison, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has cost £259,057 over the same time, and Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering, just £78,960.

Labour MP Cat Smith spent £171,580.89 on office running costs in 2019/20, including £150,558.47 on staff wages and £21,022.42 on other office expenditures.

The Lancaster and Fleetwood MP spent £22,001.47 of her accommodation budget (of £28,355), and a further £10,490.27 on travel and subsistence.

The IPSA figures also reveal the individual claims made by Cat Smith in 2019/20. The most expensive single claim, outside of annual staff pay, was £3,300 for maintenance, redecorations and repairs.

At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense she claimed was £1 for rail travel.

Meanwhile, Tory MP David Morris spent £148,526.22 on office running costs in 2019/20, including £122,225.54 on staff wages and £26,300.68 on other office expenditures.

The Morecambe and Lunesdale MP spent £16,898.68 of his accommodation budget (of £28,355), and a further £29,297.98 on travel and subsistence.

Mr Morris's most expensive single claim, outside of annual staff pay, was £3,142 for pooled staffing services.

Further details provided said this was for "Policy Research Unit (Conservative)".

The smallest one-off expense he claimed was £1.50 for parking.

The total cost of MPs last year rose by seven per cent to £127.6m – including £5.58m on travel and subsistence claims, and at least £718,700 on hotel claims – though 2019/20 does include more MPs as a result of new members following the election.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "While MPs must have the resources to do their jobs, many taxpayers will be worried about the growing cost of politics.

“The electorate expects politicians to stay grounded and keep costs under control, particularly the millions spent on travel and overnight expenses.

“With the economy and public finances in such dire straits, limiting their expenses claims where possible would be a welcome way for MPs to show that we’re all in it together.”

IPSA said the preparations for a General Election and the pandemic had had a significant impact on their work during the 2019/20 financial year, and on Parliament.

Interim chair Richard Lloyd added: “In March we moved to full working from home for all our staff, and put in place a package of practical support for MPs and their staff to help them continue to serve their constituents during the Covid crisis.

"Every month over 4,000 MPs and staff have their salaries paid and business costs reimbursed, within the rules set independently by IPSA. It’s good for confidence in our system that compliance with the rules is very high, at 99.97 per cent.

“Through IPSA, taxpayers can be assured that public money has been spent appropriately by Members of Parliament, and that we have helped them to serve their constituents during the most difficult of times.”

MPs' costs are usually broken down into dozens of categories, with staff pay almost always the largest expense.

David Morris's five most expensive types of costs were:

1) Payroll – £115,083.54

2) Rent – £25,957.60

3) Rail travel – £23,252.90

4) Bought-in services – £5,400.00

5) Stationery and printing – £4,876.84

Cat Smith's five most expensive types of costs were:

1) Payroll – £150,456.71

2) Rent – £29,839.48

3) Rail travel – £6,118.45

4) Utilities – £3,843.20

5) Maintenance, redecorations and repairs – £3,505.00