MPs’ business costs

Sir Gavin Williamson

IPSA paid £2,710,527 against 2,633 published rows for Sir Gavin Williamson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for South Staffordshire CC, then Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge 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, 2016-17

254 claims, £163,579 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.	126	£118,326	72.3%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	106	£20,592	12.6%
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.	21	£17,912	10.9%
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.	1	£6,750	4.1%

Every year in the register

Sir Gavin Williamson’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	93	£51,922	£14,818	£15,764	£4,707	—	£87,211
2011-12	124	£65,517	£16,623	£17,864	£5,767	£233	£106,004
2012-13	173	£87,771	£21,570	£19,689	£6,234	£444	£135,708
2013-14	266	£124,680	£21,841	£18,469	£6,251	—	£171,242
2014-15	198	£137,612	£18,682	£17,961	£6,103	—	£180,358
2015-16	234	£120,808	£21,629	£20,268	£6,196	—	£168,901
2016-17	254	£118,326	£20,592	£17,912	£6,750	—	£163,579
2017-18	124	£117,017	£20,293	£20,202	£3,671	—	£161,183
2018-19	99	£133,937	£22,112	£19,696	£2,218	—	£177,962
2019-20	102	£119,467	£23,973	£19,842	£2,814	—	£166,096
2020-21	100	£118,937	£18,605	£19,158	£134	—	£156,834
2021-22	124	£165,815	£23,737	£25,825	£2,914	—	£218,291
2022-23	170	£185,471	£21,778	£23,557	£8,331	—	£239,137
2023-24	187	£193,755	£36,055	£27,110	£16,833	—	£273,753
2024-25	285	£197,434	£35,205	£27,009	£17,996	£950	£278,593
2025-26	100	—	£22,967	£2,707	—	—	£25,673

A year in which Sir Gavin Williamson 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£114,923
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,661
Public Tr UND Volunteer	40	£374
Food & Drink Volunteer	80	£360
Car Hire Volunteer	4	£8

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent 2	4	£8,176
Postage Purchase	13	£5,416
Stationery Purchase	46	£4,367
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	20	£1,024
Computer SW Purchase	1	£900
Website - Hosting	1	£300

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	11	£16,954
Council Tax	2	£502
Gas	4	£307
Electricity	4	£149

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,750

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£114,923	£114,923
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£6,750	£6,750
21 April 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,661	£2,661
4 January 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	SSC	£2,044	£2,044
4 October 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	SSC	£2,044	£2,044
4 July 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	South Staffordshire Council	£2,044	£2,044
11 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	South Staffordshire Council	£2,044	£2,044
31 March 2017	Office Costs	Postage Purchase	Banner	£1,650	£1,650
30 March 2017	Office Costs	Postage Purchase	Banner	£1,650	£1,650
16 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541
20 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541
18 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541
18 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541
16 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541
16 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,541	£1,541

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 Gavin Williamson 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 Gavin Williamson’s register of interests and votes · Sources