STROUD MP Siobhan Baillie's business costs for last year have been revealed. 

A member of parliament's business costs can range from accommodation, staffing, travelling and more. 

Ms Baillie had business costs of £205,000 last year, the figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show. 

The MP's costs were on par with the average for all Members of Parliament - which was £203,880.

MP Siobhan Baillie - elected in December 2019- spent £188,500 on office running costs in 2020-21, including £158,700 on staff wages and £29,800 on other office expenditures.

And she spent all of her accommodation budget (£16,100), and a further £79.65 on travel and subsistence.

The total costs of MPs last year rose by 4 per cent to £132.5 million, with almost £300,000 going on hotel claims for just 49 members.

Business costs are the essential costs incurred by MPs while carrying out their parliamentary duties including staffing, office costs and travel.

MP Siobhan Baillie said: "My business costs are pretty much bang on average when compared to other MPs.

"I pick up quite a few things out of my own pocket, including my routine travel.

"Staffing costs understandably remain the biggest expense for any MP.

"Like many of my predecessors, I run two offices - one in Westminster and one in Stroud.

"We receive thousands of emails and hundreds of enquiries each week so my wonderful staff help me provide the best possible service I can to Stroud constituents. 

"The pandemic has also added to costs as all offices have responded to an unprecedented demand for help and advice in challenging times. 

"The system is independent so MPs cannot influence budgets and full breakdowns of costs for Stroud MPs over the years are publicly available."

MPs cannot claim for personal costs, such as food and drink, during their normal working day, and all claims must be compliant with IPSA rules and accompanied by evidence.

IPSA’s chairman, Richard Lloyd, said compliance with the rules was at 99.7 per cent last year.

He added: “By far the largest area of spending is to pay for the salaries of MPs’ staff.

"In the last financial year MPs and their staff changed how they work to provide their constituents with a service during the pandemic.

“We enabled MPs’ staff to work from home, while the amount spent on parliamentary business travel fell to reflect different working patterns."

Siobhan Baillie's five largest types of costs were:

1) Payroll – costing £153,283.07

2) Rent – £22,200.00

3) Bought-in services – £14,880.00

4) Pooled Staffing Services – £3,049.00

5) Stationery & printing – £2,842.59