Luke Hall cost the taxpayer around £218,000 in the last financial year, £30,000 more than the MP average, new figures reveal.

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show the Conservative MP's total business costs for the 2019-20 financial year were £218,295.24.

The Thornbury and Yate MP's costs were above the average for other members of parliament elected before December 2019, of £188,295.

South Gloucestershire's other MPs Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) and Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke), cost around £150,000 and £199,000 respectively.

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

Luke Hall spent around £177,000 on office running costs in 2019-20, including £155,000 on staff wages and £22,000 on other office expenditures.

The Thornbury and Yate MP spent nearly £30,000 of his accommodation budget (of £33,790), and a further £11,647.65 on travel and subsistence.

The total cost of MPs last year rose by 7 per cent to £127.6 million – including £5.58 million 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.”

The IPSA figures also reveal the individual claims made by Luke Hall in 2019-20.

The most expensive single claim, outside of annual staff pay, was £3,133 for pooled staffing services. Further details provided said this was for "Policy Research Unit (Conservative)".

At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense he claimed was £0.72 for car mileage.

The 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.

Luke Hall's five most expensive types of costs were:

1) Payroll – costing £154,720.13

2) Rent – £40,632.00

3) Car mileage – £5,794.81

4) Rail travel – £5,011.85

5) Pooled staffing services – £3,133.00

Luke Hall said: "All MPs have a set budget to fund staff salaries, office rent, stationary, accommodation in London and travel between the constituency and Parliament. 

"This is all published in the public domain, and a full breakdown can be found at:theipsa.org.uk."