MPs’ business costs

Sir Andrew Mitchell

IPSA paid £2,732,405 against 1,451 published rows for Sir Andrew Mitchell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Sutton Coldfield BC. These are the costs of running an office and employing staff under IPSA’s rules. They are not salary, and the largest part of them is wages IPSA pays to the member’s employees rather than money the member receives.

By category, 2015-16

75 claims, £173,727 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The salaries and employment costs of the people an MP employs to run their office and casework. IPSA pays these directly; they are not money an MP receives.	4	£147,440	84.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	58	£15,178	8.7%
Accommodation	The cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.	12	£3,789	2.2%
Travel	Journeys between the constituency and Westminster and within the constituency. Until 2018-19 IPSA published one travel category; from 2019-20 it publishes travel by the MP, by staff and by a dependant separately.	1	£7,320	4.2%

Every year in the register

Sir Andrew Mitchell’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2025-26. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, so a rise between two distant years is partly a rise in prices. Select a year to read it on its own.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	97	£89,353	£10,026	£10,451	£3,400	—	£113,229
2011-12	111	£118,004	£17,347	£11,793	£4,698	—	£151,842
2012-13	122	£112,051	£18,445	£7,349	£5,791	—	£143,636
2013-14	120	£137,589	£19,138	£3,145	£6,871	—	£166,743
2014-15	78	£138,095	£14,288	£2,902	£8,068	—	£163,354
2015-16	75	£147,440	£15,178	£3,789	£7,320	—	£173,727
2016-17	91	£145,579	£20,754	£3,855	£7,472	—	£177,660
2017-18	89	£142,854	£22,749	£4,301	£6,807	—	£176,712
2018-19	84	£143,405	£21,272	£4,168	£7,545	—	£176,390
2019-20	100	£130,726	£29,159	£4,713	£5,510	—	£170,109
2020-21	101	£145,477	£25,430	£2,673	£3,593	£3,414	£180,587
2021-22	64	£177,343	£21,590	£4,877	£4,642	—	£208,452
2022-23	55	£215,743	£9,925	£4,138	£5,398	—	£235,204
2023-24	79	£165,440	£33,565	£6,226	£3,718	—	£208,949
2024-25	119	£230,540	£23,138	£5,594	£8,742	—	£268,015
2025-26	66	—	£12,651	£5,145	—	—	£17,796

A year in which Sir Andrew Mitchell joined or left the House part-way through is a part year, and is not comparable with a full one.

What each category is made of, 2015-16

The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£145,027
Pooled Services	3	£2,413

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	3	£4,273
Professional Services	2	£3,477
Stationery Purchase	29	£2,946
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	15	£1,457
Website - Design/Production	1	£1,188
Website - Hosting	4	£1,010

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	1	£1,320
Electricity	4	£913
Gas	1	£463
Buildings Insurance	1	£444
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£373
Water	1	£275

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,320

Largest claims, 2015-16

The 15 rows IPSA paid most against, with IPSA’s own description of each. Read the description before the amount: IPSA publishes most of a member’s staffing as one row for the whole year — “Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the ⟨year⟩ year” — so the largest row here is usually a year of wages for the member’s employees and not something bought.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£145,027	£145,027
31 March 2016	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2015-16	£7,320	£7,320
23 June 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	Research	£2,977	£2,977
8 February 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency Office Rent	£1,424	£1,424
9 November 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency Office Rent	£1,424	£1,424
28 August 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Constituency Office Rent	£1,424	£1,424
6 April 2015	Accommodation	Council Tax	Council Tax	£1,320	£1,320
4 January 2016	Office Costs	Website - Design/Production	Website	£1,188	£1,188
12 May 2015	Office Costs	Website - Hosting	Website Management	£944	£944
8 February 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services	Pooled Services	£804	£804
9 November 2015	Staffing	Pooled Services	Pooled Services	£804	£804
28 August 2015	Staffing	Pooled Services	Pooled Services	£804	£804
27 January 2016	Office Costs	Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	—	£691	£691
15 May 2015	Office Costs	Professional Services	Casework System Hosting	£500	£500
13 April 2015	Accommodation	Gas	Energy	£463	£463

What this page does not show

Whether any of it was justified. IPSA accepted these claims under its own rules and the register records what was paid, not whether it should have been. A large total is not a finding about the member.

Nor how Sir Andrew Mitchell compares with another member. After staffing the largest headings are accommodation and travel, and both are decided mostly by where a constituency is: a member several hundred miles from Westminster is eligible for costs a member with a London seat is not. Two members’ totals are two sets of rules as much as two sets of choices, and the length of service differs too.

It is also not pay. IPSA sets and publishes MPs’ salaries separately and they are not in this register; the staffing figure here is the salaries of the member’s employees.

All MPs’ business costs · Sir Andrew Mitchell’s register of interests and votes · Sources