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, 2016-17

223 claims, £176,054 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.	48	£111,051	63.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	149	£23,120	13.1%
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.	23	£20,610	11.7%
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	£20,818	11.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£455	0.3%

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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£96,098
Professional Services (Staff.)	45	£14,666
Health and Welfare Costs	2	£288

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent 2	4	£9,100
Stationery Purchase	21	£2,364
Const Office Rent 3	10	£2,000
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	21	£1,820
Const Office Repairs	10	£1,444
Business Rates	2	£1,347

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£18,918
Council Tax	2	£805
Other Fuel	2	£592
Electricity	4	£184
Water	2	£111

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£20,818

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	2	£455

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	£96,098	£96,098
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£20,818	£20,818
6 January 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	Larne Rent Jan-Mar	£2,450	£2,450
30 September 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	rent oct - dec	£2,450	£2,450
6 July 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	rent/mobile.bulbs	£2,450	£2,450
15 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	Elect/boiler/rent	£1,750	£1,750
23 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	March rent	£1,570	£1,570
26 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Rent February	£1,570	£1,570
14 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London rent January	£1,570	£1,570
28 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Rent December	£1,570	£1,570
19 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London Rent November	£1,570	£1,570
20 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	Rent October	£1,570	£1,570
30 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	September rent	£1,570	£1,570
26 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	August Rent	£1,570	£1,570
30 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	London rent July	£1,570	£1,570

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