MPs’ business costs

David Mundell

IPSA paid £3,428,223 against 4,070 published rows for David Mundell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 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, 2013-14

209 claims, £200,633 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	£135,960	67.8%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	169	£22,684	11.3%
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	£20,128	10.0%
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	£21,618	10.8%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	6	£243	0.1%

Every year in the register

David Mundell’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	187	£81,783	£18,314	£16,372	£13,145	£807	£130,421
2011-12	232	£111,948	£21,551	£21,152	£22,168	—	£176,819
2012-13	219	£117,706	£21,739	£19,467	£20,049	—	£178,960
2013-14	209	£135,960	£22,684	£20,128	£21,618	£243	£200,633
2014-15	225	£136,054	£22,014	£19,659	£22,093	—	£199,820
2015-16	196	£138,096	£22,094	£20,357	£15,449	—	£195,995
2016-17	194	£139,422	£22,768	£20,166	£13,976	—	£196,333
2017-18	195	£150,900	£21,347	£21,069	£10,290	—	£203,606
2018-19	235	£153,326	£24,917	£21,304	£14,081	—	£213,628
2019-20	280	£166,424	£29,678	£19,252	£21,461	—	£236,816
2020-21	277	£193,675	£34,951	£19,857	£11,007	—	£259,491
2021-22	306	£190,858	£26,908	£21,286	£23,470	—	£262,522
2022-23	366	£212,880	£27,060	£21,967	£25,744	—	£287,652
2023-24	454	£234,136	£30,824	£27,860	£33,248	—	£326,067
2024-25	354	£245,353	£31,653	£28,193	£25,338	—	£330,536
2025-26	141	£491	£25,068	£3,365	—	—	£28,924

A year in which David Mundell 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, 2013-14

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£135,960

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	7	£4,501
Professional Services: Direct	1	£3,960
Stationery Purchase	27	£3,545
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	25	£3,496
Const Office Electricity	10	£1,755
Professional Services	4	£960

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	13	£18,471
Council Tax	2	£792
Gas	3	£472
Telephone Usage/Rental	11	£283
Television Licence	1	£73
Electricity	2	£37

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£21,618

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Expense Outside Scheme	6	£243

Largest claims, 2013-14

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 2014	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2013-14 year	£135,960	£135,960
31 March 2014	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2013-14	£21,618	£21,618
5 June 2013	Office Costs	Professional Services: Direct	—	£3,960	£3,960
5 March 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,571	£1,571
3 February 2014	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,571	£1,571
19 December 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,571	£1,571
5 December 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,571	£1,571
4 November 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
2 October 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
5 September 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
5 August 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
3 July 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
4 June 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
2 May 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
8 April 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517

Claims refused and money repaid, 2013-14

4 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £261 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 David Mundell 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 · David Mundell’s register of interests and votes · Sources