MPs’ business costs

Sammy Wilson

IPSA paid £2,818,050 against 2,764 published rows for Sammy Wilson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for East Antrim 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

73 claims, £108,831 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.	1	£82,451	75.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	29	£4,582	4.2%
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	£10,078	9.3%
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	£11,720	10.8%

Every year in the register

Sammy Wilson’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	73	£82,451	£4,582	£10,078	£11,720	—	£108,831
2011-12	83	£106,124	£8,311	£11,464	£16,899	—	£142,798
2012-13	139	£107,829	£18,966	£7,628	£14,678	—	£149,101
2013-14	115	£100,922	£19,946	£19,436	£22,872	£425	£163,602
2014-15	122	£91,522	£22,018	£19,648	£17,159	—	£150,345
2015-16	175	£104,691	£25,136	£20,315	£19,425	—	£169,568
2016-17	223	£111,051	£23,120	£20,610	£20,818	£455	£176,054
2017-18	204	£119,623	£24,071	£21,559	£23,707	—	£188,961
2018-19	209	£126,722	£23,110	£22,579	£27,300	—	£199,710
2019-20	242	£144,513	£26,568	£17,273	£27,629	—	£215,984
2020-21	293	£148,076	£25,597	£13,487	£16,345	—	£203,505
2021-22	214	£139,191	£23,994	£16,206	£24,092	—	£203,483
2022-23	159	£153,907	£25,886	£20,500	£31,138	—	£231,431
2023-24	202	£161,458	£30,965	£23,840	£28,072	—	£244,336
2024-25	200	£170,994	£28,520	£27,809	£24,350	—	£251,674
2025-26	111	£358	£15,714	£2,594	—	—	£18,666

A year in which Sammy Wilson 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 type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£82,451

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Computer HW Purchase	3	£1,621
Stationery Purchase	9	£1,488
Other	13	£1,260
Printer Purchase	1	£126
Telephone/Mobile Purchase	2	£50
Professional Services	1	£38

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mortgage Interest	11	£7,609
Service Charges	4	£1,491
Council Tax	7	£506
Other Fuel	4	£254
Electricity	4	£133
Television Licence	8	£48

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£11,720

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£82,451	£82,451
31 March 2011	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2010-11	£11,720	£11,720
18 February 2011	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	2011 Mar - Gen Admin computer	£833	£833
7 January 2011	Office Costs	Other	2011 Jan - constituency office	£734	£734
10 March 2011	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2011 May - London Accomm	£704	£704
10 February 2011	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2011 April - Feb Accomm	£704	£704
10 January 2011	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2011 Feb Accomm	£704	£704
10 December 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2011 Feb Accomm	£704	£704
10 November 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2011 Jan - Accomm	£704	£704
11 October 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2010 Oct - Accomm	£704	£704
10 September 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2010 Oct - Accomm	£704	£704
25 August 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2010 August - Accommodation	£704	£704
25 August 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2010 August - Accommodation	£704	£704
16 August 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2010 Oct - Accomm	£704	£704
14 March 2011	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	2011 April - office costs	£660	£660

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 Sammy Wilson 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 · Sammy Wilson’s register of interests and votes · Sources