Melanie Ward MP: votes, interests and costs
The Member of Parliament for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy is Melanie Ward (Labour). The Members API lists the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office) from 22 July 2026.
Offices and committees
The Members API lists one current post for Melanie Ward.
Ministerial and shadow posts
| Post | Department | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office) | Scotland Office | 22 July 2026 | Current |
Earlier committees
| Committee or post | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Courts and Tribunals Bill | 18 March 2026 | 28 April 2026 |
| Ecclesiastical Committee | 3 April 2025 | 22 July 2026 |
Source: Parliament Members API, read 15 October 2026, SHA-256 b272d43d25e4.
Register of interests
Entries in the register for Melanie Ward, as the MP registered them: Visits outside the UK (4), Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources (1). Latest registration 7 July 2026. Each entry is quoted as published, with its registration date; payments linked to an entry are listed under it.
International visit to Syria between 29 June 2026 and 02 July 2026
- Purpose of the visit: Attendance at the first conference of the Syria Britain Business Council; meetings with Syrian transitional government ministers, church leaders and NGOs to discuss post-war recovery and reconstruction in Syria.
- Date Member left the UK: 2026-06-29
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2026-07-02
International visit to Qatar between 05 December 2025 and 08 December 2025
- Purpose of the visit: To participate in the Doha Forum 2025 on diplomacy, dialogue and diversity, including meetings with fellow cross-party parliamentarians, political representations of other countries and Qatari ministers to discuss Qatar’s role in seeking to resolve current regional conflicts.
- Date Member left the UK: 2025-12-05
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2025-12-08
Great Britain China Centre - £1,100.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Cost of a two-day non-residential course in London attended by a member of staff (Great Britain China Centre is a non-departmental body of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
- Value of the benefit: £1,100.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2025-11-06
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2025-11-06
- End date, if the benefit was received over time: 2025-11-07
- Name of the donor: Great Britain China Centre
- Status of the donor: Company
International visit to Saudi Arabia between 30 September 2025 and 03 October 2025
- Purpose of the visit: Participation in Munich Leaders Meeting on the Middle East, run by the Munich Security Conference Foundation.
- Date Member left the UK: 2025-09-30
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2025-10-03
International visit to United States between 17 September 2025 and 21 September 2025
- Purpose of the visit: Participation in Annual Meeting of Women Parliamentarians Programme run by the Munich Security Conference Foundation.
- Date Member left the UK: 2025-09-17
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2025-09-21
Source: Register of Members' Financial Interests API, read 29 October 2026. The register entry on UK Parliament.
Business costs (IPSA)
In 2024-25 Melanie Ward's office spent £133,317 on staff, from a staffing budget of £185,538, according to IPSA. Office costs came to £25,165 of a £30,426 budget. Budgets for that year run from the MP's election on 4 July 2024, as IPSA's reason column states. IPSA publishes each budget, the amount spent and the amount left (the remaining amounts are in IPSA's files); no total across budgets is published, so none is given here.
| IPSA figure | 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Staffing: spent | £133,316.73 |
| Office costs: spent | £25,164.64 |
| Accommodation: spent | £13,684.42 |
| Travel and subsistence (no cap): spent | £23,391.75 |
| Other costs (no cap): spent | £0.00 |
Budgets set for 2024-25: office costs £30,426, staffing £185,538, accommodation £24,633 (Standard non-London area budget from 5 July 2024, and a start-up supplement of £6,000; Standard non-London area budget from 5 July 2024; Standard budget for renting a property outside the London area from 5 July 2024, plus an uplift to cover the cost of two dependants).
IPSA's CSVs for 2024-25, read 15 October 2026; constituency as IPSA lists it: Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy CC.
Staff roles listed by IPSA, 2024-25
Senior Caseworker (permanent part time), Office Manager (permanent full time), Caseworker (permanent full time), Senior Communication Officer (permanent full time), Senior Researcher (permanent full time) (IPSA CSV)
IPSA annual publications · All MPs' 2024-25 costs (table and CSV)
Votes in the Commons
How Melanie Ward voted in the House of Commons: 475 recorded votes since 4 July 2024, as published by the Commons Votes API. Of these, 51 were votes on statutory instruments or procedural motions, which are not listed below. Below, the latest 30 on bills and motions. The most recent, on 21 October 2026, was a No on "Opposition day motion: Support for British farmers".
Source: Commons Votes API, read 29 October 2026. Only divisions in which a vote is recorded for the MP are counted. The full list on UK Parliament.
Written questions
Melanie Ward has tabled 80 written questions since 4 July 2024, according to the Written Questions API. Departments in the latest 10: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Department of Health and Social Care; Ministry of Defence; Treasury; and others.
Syria: Diplomatic Service
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration she has given to appointing a new British ambassador to Syria.
Breast Cancer: Research
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support research into treatment for lobular breast cancer.
Defence: Manufacturing Industries
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consideration he has given to the development of skills required by the defence industry in Fife.
International Criminal Court
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the UK is taking to support the International Criminal Court.
Energy: Prices
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans she has to increase support for families in the context of trends in the cost of energy caused by the conflict in Iran.
Defence: Expenditure
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in defence spending on Wales.
Driving Tests
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will consider extending the validity of driving theory tests from two years to three years.
Gaza: Doctors
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on access to Gaza for a) Palestinian doctors and b) international doctors.
Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on the opening of a humanitarian corridor between Gaza and the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Pigs and Poultry: Animal Housing
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's proposed timeline is for banning cages in relation to hens and pigs.
Source: Written Questions API, read 15 October 2026, SHA-256 cc4dbca09241. Question wording as listed by the API, which gives the opening words of longer questions. All questions by Melanie Ward.
2024 general election
The House of Commons Library records a majority of 7,248 for Melanie Ward in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy in July 2024, from 18,662 votes on a turnout of 56.8%. Result as published: Lab gain from SNP.
Commons Library results, read 14 October 2026 · Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy figures
Built 15 October 2026 from official records; register entries and votes are re-read on a rolling schedule. This page sets out what the record shows and gives no rating of the MP. Official UK Parliament page · All MPs · Something wrong? Tell us.