MPs’ business costs

Ian Murray

IPSA paid £3,085,870 against 2,424 published rows for Ian Murray between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Edinburgh South 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, 2017-18

150 claims, £199,271 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.	4	£141,302	70.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	103	£24,149	12.1%
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.	42	£21,372	10.7%
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	£12,447	6.2%

Every year in the register

Ian Murray’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	161	£83,066	£25,023	£17,834	£10,209	—	£136,132
2011-12	179	£117,449	£25,871	£19,889	£11,009	—	£174,217
2012-13	151	£125,038	£26,950	£19,375	£12,112	—	£183,476
2013-14	143	£129,454	£27,218	£21,515	£10,933	£62	£189,182
2014-15	162	£127,572	£25,790	£19,254	£8,710	—	£181,327
2015-16	133	£116,302	£22,916	£17,740	£10,777	—	£167,735
2016-17	150	£143,284	£23,608	£20,230	£12,557	—	£199,679
2017-18	150	£141,302	£24,149	£21,372	£12,447	—	£199,271
2018-19	140	£151,815	£24,499	£20,525	£12,612	—	£209,451
2019-20	169	£154,169	£24,439	£19,700	£12,656	—	£210,965
2020-21	132	£163,516	£23,274	£13,809	£2,738	—	£203,337
2021-22	173	£179,766	£28,850	£10,206	£10,028	—	£228,849
2022-23	172	£180,592	£25,248	£5,959	£17,726	—	£229,525
2023-24	177	£214,146	£28,988	£5,282	£17,583	—	£265,999
2024-25	154	£231,218	£29,822	£5,027	£13,519	—	£279,586
2025-26	78	—	£20,744	£6,394	—	—	£27,139

A year in which Ian Murray 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 type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£133,611
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800
Professional Services (Staff.)	2	£2,891

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	14	£9,971
Const Office Repairs	6	£3,982
Const Office Electricity	13	£1,866
Stationery Purchase	17	£1,829
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	17	£1,771
Waste Disposal	13	£1,032

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	14	£19,209
Water	2	£803
Electricity	13	£661
Council Tax	1	£474
Telephone Usage/Rental	12	£226

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,447

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£133,611	£133,611
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£12,447	£12,447
28 April 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
20 March 2018	Staffing	Professional Services (Staff.)	STAFFING POOLED	£1,891	£1,891
6 March 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Repairs	OFFICE COSTS - REFURB	£1,565	£1,565
2 March 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
21 January 2018	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
21 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
4 December 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
3 November 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
3 October 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
6 September 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
2 August 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
5 July 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550
5 June 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,550	£1,550

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 Ian Murray 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 · Ian Murray’s register of interests and votes · Sources