MPs’ business costs

Dr Andrew Murrison

IPSA paid £1,903,567 against 2,218 published rows for Dr Andrew Murrison between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for South West Wiltshire CC. 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, 2017-18

156 claims, £151,108 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£125,60983.1%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.135£17,11611.3%
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.16£4,7593.1%
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£3,2442.1%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.2£3800.3%

Every year in the register

Dr Andrew Murrison’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
2010-11212£57,611£13,444£1,671£3,115£75,842
2011-12149£61,040£18,790£7,957£3,972£395£92,155
2012-13173£61,521£18,329£6,399£2,550£88,799
2013-14187£67,049£17,399£4,009£1,637£90,094
2014-15167£70,445£13,939£2,537£1,833£88,752
2015-16219£87,310£16,720£1,972£4,274£438£110,714
2016-17187£106,837£18,278£3,834£4,118£133,067
2017-18156£125,609£17,116£4,759£3,244£380£151,108
2018-1984£117,822£18,051£7,039£3,674£146,586
2019-20122£84,648£19,294£3,420£2,674£360£110,396
2020-21119£112,906£17,899£4,397£2,225£137,428
2021-22112£128,341£17,877£3,229£3,035£360£152,842
2022-23102£133,994£19,870£5,794£3,427£163,086
2023-2480£141,291£23,082£6,440£2,991£173,804
2024-25108£153,988£9,409£5,469£3,083£171,949
2025-2641£10,677£6,269£16,946

A year in which Dr Andrew Murrison 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£122,884
Pooled Services: Direct1£2,725

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent13£8,799
Stationery Purchase12£2,582
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental31£2,365
Computer SW Purchase1£750
Const Office Electricity12£712
Const Office Cleaning42£429

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Service Charges5£3,235
Council Tax1£868
Water1£243
Gas4£242
Electricity5£171

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£3,244

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Removal Costs - Contingency2£380

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year£122,884£122,884
31 March 2018TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2017-18£3,244£3,244
30 June 2017StaffingPooled Services: DirectPRU£2,725£2,725
29 July 2017AccommodationService ChargesAccommodation£1,496£1,496
21 January 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,000£1,000
21 December 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£1,000£1,000
27 March 2018AccommodationCouncil TaxPayment Card£868£868
6 December 2017Office CostsComputer SW PurchasePayment Card£750£750
9 November 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
9 October 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
13 September 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
10 August 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
12 July 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
11 June 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708
11 May 2017Office CostsConst Office Rent£708£708

Claims refused and money repaid, 2017-18

1 claim carries an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £38 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 Dr Andrew Murrison 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 · Dr Andrew Murrison’s register of interests and votes · Sources