MPs’ business costs

David Davis

IPSA paid £2,713,984 against 2,747 published rows for David Davis between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Haltemprice and Howden CC, then Goole and Pocklington 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, 2011-12

128 claims, £148,967 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.22£110,88874.4%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.82£13,5769.1%
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.23£18,76812.6%
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£5,7363.9%

Every year in the register

David Davis’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
2010-11131£88,854£5,894£12,121£4,335£111,204
2011-12128£110,888£13,576£18,768£5,736£148,967
2012-13145£121,656£19,312£18,891£5,705£165,563
2013-14149£136,653£16,733£19,042£6,018£178,447
2014-15140£137,659£11,426£19,126£5,946£174,157
2015-16156£130,860£10,889£18,862£6,165£166,776
2016-17117£113,351£8,088£19,077£7,055£147,571
2017-18112£98,444£5,737£18,691£4,320£127,192
2018-19146£105,072£22,091£19,065£7,850£154,078
2019-20167£134,788£14,618£23,058£9,712£182,176
2020-21213£129,453£22,449£23,010£4,440£179,352
2021-22213£147,628£19,134£23,290£5,876£195,928
2022-23254£205,837£23,390£25,080£6,091£260,398
2023-24246£173,208£26,356£24,602£5,259£229,425
2024-25324£212,267£31,128£29,290£5,587£581£278,853
2025-26106£13,025£871£13,896

A year in which David Davis 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£109,167
Public Tr OTHER Int/Volntr2£881
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr12£751
Public Tr RAIL Other Int/Volnt7£88

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Stationery Purchase21£4,797
Professional Services1£3,960
Mobile Usage/Rental16£1,035
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental8£723
Legal Expenses Insurance1£636
Payment Telephone/Mobile7£612

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accommodation Rent12£17,400
Water2£636
Electricity5£515
Telephone Usage/Rental4£217

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£5,736

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2011-12 year£109,167£109,167
31 March 2012TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2011-12£5,736£5,736
3 June 2011Office CostsProfessional ServicesPRU£3,960£3,960
28 March 2012AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation March 2012£1,450£1,450
28 February 2012AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation Feb 2012£1,450£1,450
28 January 2012AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accomm Jan 2012£1,450£1,450
28 December 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accommodation Dec 2011£1,450£1,450
28 November 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentAccommodation November 2011£1,450£1,450
28 October 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentFlat Rental October 2011£1,450£1,450
28 September 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accomm Sept 2011£1,450£1,450
28 August 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentRent August 2011£1,450£1,450
28 July 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accom July 2011£1,450£1,450
28 June 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accom June 2011£1,450£1,450
28 May 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accom March - May 2011£1,450£1,450
28 April 2011AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Accom March - May 2011£1,450£1,450

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 David Davis 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 · David Davis’s register of interests and votes · Sources