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, 2021-22

64 claims, £208,452 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.2£177,34385.1%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.32£21,59010.4%
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.23£4,8772.3%
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.7£4,6422.2%

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.

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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£174,355
Pooled staffing services1£2,988

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent4£12,700
Equipment - purchase4£3,527
Website hosting and design3£2,575
Working From Home Allowance1£1,373
Software & applications1£600
Stationery & printing7£531

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Service charge & ground Rent4£1,781
Council tax1£1,598
Utilities13£760
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage3£422
Rent1£175
Landline phone & internet - installation & equipment purchase1£141

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Mileage - car3£4,262
Rail3£348
Other public transport1£31

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£174,355£174,355
31 March 2022MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2021-22£3,906£3,906
16 March 2022Office CostsRentConstituency office rent Feb to May£3,175£3,175
18 November 2021Office CostsRentOffice and rental services 8 Nov to 7th Feb£3,175£3,175
26 August 2021Office CostsRentConstituency Office and Rental Services 8th August to 7th November- as per agreement already approved by IPSA£3,175£3,175
5 May 2021Office CostsRentOffice and Rental Services 8th May to 7th August 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 April 2021StaffingPooled staffing servicesPolicy Research Unit (Conservative)£2,988£2,988
2 March 2021AccommodationCouncil taxBirmingham City Council annual council tax bill 2021/22£1,598£1,598
31 March 2022Office CostsWorking From Home AllowanceAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£1,373£1,373
12 January 2022Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£1,197£1,197
11 November 2021Office CostsWebsite hosting and designbutter mountain invoice for website www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk Website design and management: Fully managed website with regular updates, sub editorial services, articles and stock image photography.£1,195£1,195
7 April 2021Office CostsWebsite hosting and designbutter mountain invoice for website www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk Website design and management: Fully managed website with regular updates, sub editorial services, articles and stock image photography. 1 April 2021 - 30 September 2021£1,195£1,195
26 October 2021Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£1,002£1,002
11 January 2022Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£978£978
5 October 2021AccommodationService charge & ground RentCentrick bill for constituency home Service Charge Period 01/11/2021 - 30/04/2022£799£799

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