MPs’ business costs

Andrew George

IPSA paid £1,197,394 against 2,867 published rows for Andrew George between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for St Ives 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, 2015-16

113 claims, £108,776 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	£14,567	13.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	26	£3,767	3.5%
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.	4	£2,174	2.0%
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	£847	0.8%
Starting up and winding up	The one-off costs of opening an office on election and of closing one on leaving. These fall in the years around a general election and are absent from the rest.	72	£83,523	76.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	9	£3,898	3.6%

Every year in the register

Andrew George’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	535	£97,351	£19,655	£11,342	£15,386	—	—	£143,734
2011-12	582	£114,886	£21,161	£14,192	£11,048	—	—	£161,287
2012-13	633	£126,677	£22,198	£15,390	£14,083	—	£315	£178,663
2013-14	455	£132,820	£22,813	£19,813	£14,381	—	—	£189,826
2014-15	273	£135,019	£20,157	£19,368	£22,231	—	—	£196,776
2015-16	113	£14,567	£3,767	£2,174	£847	£83,523	£3,898	£108,776
2024-25	182	£130,786	£26,401	£14,326	£13,976	—	—	£185,490
2025-26	94	—	£12,824	£20,017	—	—	—	£32,841

A year in which Andrew George 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, 2015-16

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£14,567

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	6	£2,036
Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting	2	£620
Business Rates	1	£456
Postage Purchase	7	£426
Professional Services	1	£86
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	1	£38

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	2	£1,661
Council Tax	1	£439
Water	1	£73

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£847

Starting up and winding up

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£70,936
Travel Costs	26	£2,780
Office Rent	4	£2,496
Office Postage/Stationery/Tel	22	£2,236
Office Make Good Dilapidations	1	£1,379
Office Miscellaneous	8	£1,036

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accom Rent (Wind. Up)	3	£3,142
Accom Electricity (Wind. Up)	2	£306
Accom Service Chgs (Wind. Up)	2	£278
Accom Tel Usg/Rent (Wind. Up)	1	£149
Accom Water (Wind. Up)	1	£23

Largest claims, 2015-16

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 2016	Winding Up	Payroll	Total payroll costs from the Winding Up budget for the 2015-16 year	£70,936	£70,936
31 March 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£14,567	£14,567
1 June 2015	Miscellaneous Expenses	Accom Rent (Wind. Up)	—	£1,430	£1,430
1 May 2015	Miscellaneous Expenses	Accom Rent (Wind. Up)	—	£1,430	£1,430
1 April 2015	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,430	£1,430
7 July 2015	Winding Up	Office Make Good Dilapidations	Winding up	£1,379	£1,379
31 March 2016	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2015-16	£847	£847
8 July 2015	Winding Up	Office Shredding/Removing Data	Winding up	£660	£660
24 September 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£624	£624
27 August 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£624	£624
27 July 2015	Winding Up	Office Rent	Simplified payment	£624	£624
27 July 2015	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£624	£624
6 July 2015	Winding Up	Office Rent	—	£624	£624
1 June 2015	Winding Up	Office Rent	—	£624	£624
1 May 2015	Winding Up	Office Rent	—	£624	£624

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 Andrew George 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 · Andrew George’s register of interests and votes · Sources