MPs’ business costs

David Mundell

IPSA paid £3,428,223 against 4,070 published rows for David Mundell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 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, 2010-11

187 claims, £130,421 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£81,78362.7%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.149£18,31414.0%
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.34£16,37212.6%
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£13,14510.1%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.1£8070.6%

Every year in the register

David Mundell’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
2010-11187£81,783£18,314£16,372£13,145£807£130,421
2011-12232£111,948£21,551£21,152£22,168£176,819
2012-13219£117,706£21,739£19,467£20,049£178,960
2013-14209£135,960£22,684£20,128£21,618£243£200,633
2014-15225£136,054£22,014£19,659£22,093£199,820
2015-16196£138,096£22,094£20,357£15,449£195,995
2016-17194£139,422£22,768£20,166£13,976£196,333
2017-18195£150,900£21,347£21,069£10,290£203,606
2018-19235£153,326£24,917£21,304£14,081£213,628
2019-20280£166,424£29,678£19,252£21,461£236,816
2020-21277£193,675£34,951£19,857£11,007£259,491
2021-22306£190,858£26,908£21,286£23,470£262,522
2022-23366£212,880£27,060£21,967£25,744£287,652
2023-24454£234,136£30,824£27,860£33,248£326,067
2024-25354£245,353£31,653£28,193£25,338£330,536
2025-26141£491£25,068£3,365£28,924

A year in which David Mundell 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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£79,375
Pooled Staffing Services1£2,409

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent2£4,651
Advertising24£3,075
Stationery Purchase22£2,368
Const Office Hire of Premises55£1,407
Payment Telephone/Mobile6£1,269
Const Office Electricity8£1,174

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Accommodation Rent14£14,347
Electricity7£656
Council Tax2£638
Service Charges1£205
Television Licence1£146
Internet6£135

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£13,145

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Contingency1£807

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2010-11 year£79,375£79,375
31 March 2011TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2010-11£13,145£13,145
30 July 2010Office CostsConst Office RentHolm St Rent May - Dec 10£2,676£2,676
10 June 2010StaffingPooled Staffing ServicesParliamentary Resources Unit£2,409£2,409
6 January 2011Office CostsConst Office RentHolm Street£1,975£1,975
30 March 2011AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,408£1,408
2 March 2011AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,408£1,408
2 February 2011AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,408£1,408
5 January 2011AccommodationAccommodation Rent£1,408£1,408
7 December 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Flat Dec 2010£1,408£1,408
9 November 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentLondon Flat Nov 10£1,408£1,408
11 October 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentOctober Rent - London Flat£967£967
9 September 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentSeptember Rent£967£967
9 August 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentAugust Rent£967£967
12 July 2010AccommodationAccommodation RentFlat Rent 07£967£967

Claims refused and money repaid, 2010-11

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £33 not paid and £0 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 David Mundell 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 Mundell’s register of interests and votes · Sources