MPs’ business costs

Mr Angus MacDonald

IPSA paid £233,089 against 276 published rows for Mr Angus MacDonald between 2024-25 and 2025-26 as the member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire 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, 2024-25

159 claims, £196,056 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe 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£154,73078.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.120£19,2529.8%
AccommodationThe 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.15£3,9092.0%
TravelJourneys 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.21£18,1659.3%

Every year in the register

Mr Angus MacDonald’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2024-25 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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelTotal
2024-25159£154,730£19,252£3,909£18,165£196,056
2025-26117£7,051£25,035£4,947£37,034

A year in which Mr Angus MacDonald 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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£149,318
Pooled staffing services1£4,900
Training - staff1£511

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Software & applications23£3,426
Stationery & printing42£2,857
Business rates2£2,815
Rent6£2,700
Utilities12£2,225
Equipment - purchase4£1,856

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Utilities5£1,421
Service charge & ground Rent1£1,152
Council tax1£820
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage7£260
Insurance - buildings1£256

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail5£11,963
Mileage - car6£2,576
Air travel2£2,103
Hotel - London1£585
Hotel - UK Not London2£443
Railcard1£285

Largest claims, 2024-25

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.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£149,318£149,318
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£11,436£11,436
16 August 2024StaffingPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Support Team (Liberal Democrat)£4,900£4,900
23 December 2024Office CostsBusiness ratesBusiness rates (pro-rated for 9 months) 2024/2025£2,615£2,615
31 March 2025Staff TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,804£1,804
31 July 2025Office CostsUtilitiesElectricity£1,709£1,709
20 July 2024Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£1,440£1,440
6 September 2024AccommodationService charge & ground RentCastlereagh Management (Service Charge)£1,152£1,152
19 March 2025Office CostsEquipment - purchaseOffice furniture£1,116£1,116
31 March 2025MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£860£860
28 November 2024AccommodationCouncil taxCity Of Westminster (Sept 24 to Mar 25)£820£820
31 March 2025Staff TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£761£761
30 January 2025Office CostsMaintenance, Redecorations & RepairsReplacement office windows following two vandalism incidents. Insurance excess is £500 per incident. So unable to claim on insurance.£720£720
20 July 2024Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£600£600
31 March 2025Staff TravelHotel - LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£585£585

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 Angus MacDonald 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 Angus MacDonald’s register of interests and votes · Sources