MPs’ business costs

Tessa Munt

IPSA paid £1,072,141 against 1,016 published rows for Tessa Munt between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Wells CC, then Wells and Mendip Hills 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, 2014-15

214 claims, £184,053 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.	41	£130,803	71.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	139	£27,385	14.9%
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.	32	£16,525	9.0%
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	£8,855	4.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£485	0.3%

Every year in the register

Tessa Munt’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	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	67	£99,606	£16,143	£12,394	£6,746	—	—	£134,889
2011-12	103	£114,940	£20,979	£20,363	£9,729	—	—	£166,011
2012-13	149	£135,327	£20,768	£16,225	£9,930	—	—	£182,250
2013-14	157	£143,727	£22,884	£19,117	£10,415	—	—	£196,144
2014-15	214	£130,803	£27,385	£16,525	£8,855	—	£485	£184,053
2015-16	58	£11,544	£2,413	—	—	£33,596	£221	£47,774
2024-25	157	£93,109	£22,660	£14,403	£3,534	—	—	£133,706
2025-26	111	£3,996	£21,206	£2,112	—	—	—	£27,314

A year in which Tessa Munt 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, 2014-15

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£125,695
Pooled Services	1	£4,956
Food & Drink Volunteer	15	£60
Public Tr BUS Volunteer	18	£57
Own Vehicle Car Volunteer	6	£35

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Professional Services	20	£8,929
Const Office Rent	14	£6,263
Furniture Purchase	3	£1,726
Stationery Purchase	16	£1,667
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	7	£1,509
Business Rates	5	£1,484

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	11	£12,811
Hotel London Area	11	£2,002
Gas	3	£698
Electricity	4	£648
Water	3	£366

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£8,855

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removal Costs - Contingency	1	£485

Largest claims, 2014-15

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 2015	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2014-15 year	£125,695	£125,695
31 March 2015	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2014-15	£8,855	£8,855
4 July 2014	Staffing	Pooled Services	PST subscription	£4,956	£4,956
4 July 2014	Office Costs	Professional Services	POLD subscription	£2,855	£2,855
5 January 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
9 December 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
6 November 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
2 October 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
2 September 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
6 August 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
3 July 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
3 June 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
6 May 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
7 April 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,544	£1,544
2 September 2014	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	New Computer	£827	£827

Claims refused and money repaid, 2014-15

3 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £860 not paid and £0 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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 Tessa Munt 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 · Tessa Munt’s register of interests and votes · Sources