Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Alan Brown has explained the reason why part of his expenses has increased this year.

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show how much each of the UK's MPs claimed during the 2021/22 financial year.

Overall, Mr Brown's expenses totalled around £233,000. This is an increase of around £15,000 from the previous year.

For Mr Brown, as with most MPs, staffing costs again comprised the largest share of his expense claim, making up nearly £173,000 of the total.

Mr Brown's office costs were down by around £3,000 to £23,348.

The MP's accommodation costs were also down from the previous year, dropping from £20,738.84 to £18,507.08.

Key in the list of increases for Alan Brown was the MP's travel, which rose from £7,305.93 to around £18,043.86.

However, Mr Brown cites the reasoning for this as being able to travel more, due to restrictions easing.

He said: "The only notable trend is that of travel and this is pretty straightforward. With the pandemic we were not travelling to London often and working from home for the most part.

"It is clear that the cost for 21/22 is in line with most years pre-covid and the reason 20/21 is so low is as a result of physically not being able to travel due to the lockdowns."

He added: "I do my best to get value for money on travel. However, anyone who regularly commutes to London will also be aware that post covid, travel costs - particularly on the trains - is more expensive than pre covid times.

“All expenses occurred for travel, accommodation and operation of the constituency office are of course claimed in accordance with the rules set by the independent overseeing body, IPSA.”