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, 2023-24

202 claims, £244,336 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.	3	£161,458	66.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	133	£30,965	12.7%
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.	56	£23,840	9.8%
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.	10	£28,072	11.5%

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, 2023-24

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£160,539
Training - staff	2	£919

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	15	£12,000
Utilities	16	£4,483
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	17	£4,102
Stationery & printing	30	£2,899
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	12	£2,694
Business rates	2	£1,971

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	13	£21,190
Council tax	12	£1,444
Utilities	19	£606
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	12	£600

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Air travel	2	£25,183
Mileage - car	2	£916
Other public transport	2	£799
Hotel - London	1	£764
Parking	2	£388
Rail	1	£22

Largest claims, 2023-24

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 2024	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2023-24 year	£160,539	£160,539
31 March 2024	MP Travel	Air travel	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£22,708	£22,708
31 March 2024	Staff Travel	Air travel	Aggregated figure for travel during 2023-24	£2,475	£2,475
2 January 2024	Office Costs	Rent	Quarterly rent for Larne constituency office	£2,450	£2,450
2 October 2023	Office Costs	Rent	Larne Office Rent	£2,450	£2,450
3 July 2023	Office Costs	Rent	Larne Office Rent	£2,450	£2,450
4 April 2023	Office Costs	Rent	Quarterly rent for Larne office	£2,450	£2,450
10 September 2023	Office Costs	Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs	Ark Carpentry and Joinery	£2,420	£2,420
13 March 2024	Accommodation	Rent	London Rent March	£1,885	£1,885
13 February 2024	Accommodation	Rent	London accommodation rent February	£1,885	£1,885
13 January 2024	Accommodation	Rent	Accommodation Rent January	£1,885	£1,885
13 December 2023	Accommodation	Rent	London Rent	£1,885	£1,885
6 April 2023	Office Costs	Business rates	Business Rates for Larne constituency office	£1,629	£1,629
14 November 2023	Accommodation	Rent	London Accommodation Rent November	£1,517	£1,517
14 October 2023	Accommodation	Rent	Accommodation Rent	£1,517	£1,517

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