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, 2020-21
101 claims, £180,587 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. | 2 | £145,477 | 80.6% |
| Office costs | Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage. | 72 | £25,430 | 14.1% |
| 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. | 22 | £2,673 | 1.5% |
| 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. | 4 | £3,593 | 2.0% |
| Miscellaneous | Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19. | 1 | £3,414 | 1.9% |
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, 2020-21
The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.
Staffing
| Cost type | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | 1 | £142,430 |
| Pooled staffing services | 1 | £3,047 |
Office costs
| Cost type | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | 4 | £12,700 |
| Stationery & printing | 44 | £3,806 |
| Postage & couriers | 1 | £2,659 |
| Website hosting and design | 4 | £2,546 |
| Equipment - purchase | 3 | £1,678 |
| Working From Home Allowance | 1 | £1,019 |
Accommodation
| Cost type | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Service charge & ground Rent | 4 | £1,361 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | 4 | £566 |
| Utilities | 12 | £396 |
| Rent | 2 | £350 |
Travel
| Cost type | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mileage - car | 2 | £3,274 |
| Rail | 2 | £319 |
Miscellaneous
| Cost type | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | 1 | £3,414 |
Largest claims, 2020-21
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 2021 | Staffing | Payroll | Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year | £142,430 | £142,430 |
| 31 March 2021 | Miscellaneous | Payroll | Total other payroll costs for the 2020-21 year | £3,414 | £3,414 |
| 31 March 2021 | MP Travel | Mileage - car | Aggregated figure for travel during 2020-21 | £3,226 | £3,226 |
| 5 February 2021 | Office Costs | Rent | Constituency office: Office and Rental Services 8th February to 7th May for MP and caseworker, as outlined in the IPSA approved contract | £3,175 | £3,175 |
| 6 November 2020 | Office Costs | Rent | Office and Rental Services 8th November 2020 to 7th February 2021 for 36 High Street Royal Sutton Coldfield. Rental agreement previously approved by IPSA. Facilities used by MP and staff. | £3,175 | £3,175 |
| 7 August 2020 | Office Costs | Rent | Constituency Office: Rental Services 8th August to 7th November 2020 for MP and Caseworker, for meetings and other constituency business. As per rental agreement set out and approved by IPSA. | £3,175 | £3,175 |
| 7 May 2020 | Office Costs | Rent | Office and Rental Services 8th May to 7th August 2020, as per the rental agreement already approved by IPSA. Constituency office for MP and caseworker. | £3,175 | £3,175 |
| 5 May 2020 | Staffing | Pooled staffing services | Policy Research Unit (Conservative) | £3,047 | £3,047 |
| 30 April 2020 | Office Costs | Postage & couriers | Royal Mail delivery of coronavirus leaflets to Sutton Coldfield constituency | £2,659 | £2,659 |
| 22 April 2020 | Office Costs | Stationery & printing | 38664 COVID19 A5 leaflets printed in full colour both sides constituency information leaflet to be sent to constituents outlining local and national support services and MP contact details including Delivery to Royal Mail sorting office | £1,580 | £1,580 |
| 30 September 2020 | Office Costs | Website hosting and design | website www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk website design and management: Fully managed website with regular updates, sub-editorial services, articles, and occasional stock image photography. 1/10/20- 31/3/21 Buttermountain Political Communications | £1,176 | £1,176 |
| 1 April 2020 | Office Costs | Website hosting and design | https://www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk/ Buttermountain invoice for website design and management: Fully managed website with regular updates, sub-editorial services, articles, and occasional stock image photography 6 months 1 April- 30 September | £1,176 | £1,176 |
| 19 February 2021 | Office Costs | Equipment - purchase | Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories | £1,131 | £1,131 |
| 31 March 2021 | Office Costs | Working From Home Allowance | Aggregated figure for 2020-21 | £1,019 | £1,019 |
| 23 November 2020 | Accommodation | Service charge & ground Rent | Centrick bill for constituency home: Service charge 1/11/20- 30/4/21 | £638 | £638 |
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