MPs’ business costs

Mr Alistair Carmichael

IPSA paid £3,321,290 against 3,217 published rows for Mr Alistair Carmichael between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Orkney and Shetland 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

211 claims, £216,111 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	£137,277	63.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	182	£23,046	10.7%
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.	25	£13,081	6.1%
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	£42,707	19.8%

Every year in the register

Mr Alistair Carmichael’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	163	£70,085	£21,014	£9,260	£32,128	—	£132,487
2011-12	226	£103,687	£30,741	£12,396	£51,090	£162	£198,076
2012-13	247	£116,687	£22,830	£12,396	£52,977	—	£204,891
2013-14	208	£133,823	£21,672	£12,396	£44,355	£160	£212,406
2014-15	224	£113,702	£23,660	£12,650	£27,157	—	£177,170
2015-16	201	£134,161	£22,134	£13,756	£39,853	—	£209,904
2016-17	211	£137,277	£23,046	£13,081	£42,707	—	£216,111
2017-18	179	£126,547	£24,366	£12,597	£42,142	—	£205,652
2018-19	190	£130,688	£25,318	£13,596	£52,784	—	£222,385
2019-20	214	£123,405	£26,678	£13,392	£51,184	—	£214,659
2020-21	200	£158,237	£24,398	£13,446	£7,736	—	£203,816
2021-22	150	£160,924	£25,663	£20,235	£38,859	—	£245,681
2022-23	214	£168,832	£29,026	£8,313	£43,841	£1,355	£251,366
2023-24	257	£186,784	£38,760	£15,746	£43,732	—	£285,022
2024-25	219	£216,189	£37,664	£14,797	£51,943	—	£320,593
2025-26	114	—	£20,177	£896	—	—	£21,072

A year in which Mr Alistair Carmichael 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	£131,777
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£5,000
Professional Services (Staff.)	1	£500

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	23	£8,953
Const Office Electricity	6	£2,555
Advertising	25	£2,484
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	16	£2,478
Const Office Cleaning	26	£1,610
Stationery Purchase	14	£1,408

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	25	£13,081

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£42,707

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	£131,777	£131,777
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£42,707	£42,707
1 June 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PST	£5,000	£5,000
27 March 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
24 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
25 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
20 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
25 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
26 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
27 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
24 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
29 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
29 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
24 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650
27 April 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£650	£650

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 Mr Alistair Carmichael 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 · Mr Alistair Carmichael’s register of interests and votes · Sources