Civometry

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, 2018-19

84 claims, £176,390 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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.7£143,40581.3%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.58£21,27212.1%
AccommodationThe 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.18£4,1682.4%
TravelJourneys 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£7,5454.3%

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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1197£89,353£10,026£10,451£3,400—£113,229
2011-12111£118,004£17,347£11,793£4,698—£151,842
2012-13122£112,051£18,445£7,349£5,791—£143,636
2013-14120£137,589£19,138£3,145£6,871—£166,743
2014-1578£138,095£14,288£2,902£8,068—£163,354
2015-1675£147,440£15,178£3,789£7,320—£173,727
2016-1791£145,579£20,754£3,855£7,472—£177,660
2017-1889£142,854£22,749£4,301£6,807—£176,712
2018-1984£143,405£21,272£4,168£7,545—£176,390
2019-20100£130,726£29,159£4,713£5,510—£170,109
2020-21101£145,477£25,430£2,673£3,593£3,414£180,587
2021-2264£177,343£21,590£4,877£4,642—£208,452
2022-2355£215,743£9,925£4,138£5,398—£235,204
2023-2479£165,440£33,565£6,226£3,718—£208,949
2024-25119£230,540£23,138£5,594£8,742—£268,015
2025-2666—£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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£138,612
Pooled Services2£4,675
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - SG3£78
Public Tr RAIL Volunteer - RT1£40

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent3£8,025
Stationery Purchase28£3,873
Professional Services: Direct1£3,094
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental17£2,918
Website - Hosting2£2,280
Computer SW Purchase1£500

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Council Tax1£1,380
Service Charges2£1,170
Electricity3£728
Telephone Usage/Rental8£414
Ground Rent2£350
Water2£126

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£7,545

Largest claims, 2018-19

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£138,612£138,612
31 March 2019TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2018-19£7,545£7,545
1 March 2019StaffingPooled ServicesPooled Services£3,175£3,175
14 August 2018Office CostsConst Office RentRent£3,175£3,175
7 May 2018Office CostsConst Office RentRent£3,175£3,175
23 April 2018Office CostsProfessional Services: DirectPRU£3,094£3,094
12 December 2018Office CostsConst Office RentRent£1,675£1,675
12 December 2018StaffingPooled ServicesPooled Services£1,500£1,500
6 April 2018AccommodationCouncil TaxCouncil Tax£1,380£1,380
1 October 2018Office CostsWebsite - HostingWebsite£1,140£1,140
13 April 2018Office CostsWebsite - HostingWebsite£1,140£1,140
19 December 2018Office CostsStationery PurchaseStationery Purchase£643£643
24 July 2018Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£611£611
1 November 2018AccommodationService ChargesService Charge£585£585
1 May 2018AccommodationService ChargesService Charge£585£585

Claims refused and money repaid, 2018-19

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £18 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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