Civometry

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, 2024-25

354 claims, £330,536 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.8£245,35374.2%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.300£31,6539.6%
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.29£28,1938.5%
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.17£25,3387.7%

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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11187£81,783£18,314£16,372£13,145£807£130,421
2011-12232£111,948£21,551£21,152£22,168—£176,819
2012-13219£117,706£21,739£19,467£20,049—£178,960
2013-14209£135,960£22,684£20,128£21,618£243£200,633
2014-15225£136,054£22,014£19,659£22,093—£199,820
2015-16196£138,096£22,094£20,357£15,449—£195,995
2016-17194£139,422£22,768£20,166£13,976—£196,333
2017-18195£150,900£21,347£21,069£10,290—£203,606
2018-19235£153,326£24,917£21,304£14,081—£213,628
2019-20280£166,424£29,678£19,252£21,461—£236,816
2020-21277£193,675£34,951£19,857£11,007—£259,491
2021-22306£190,858£26,908£21,286£23,470—£262,522
2022-23366£212,880£27,060£21,967£25,744—£287,652
2023-24454£234,136£30,824£27,860£33,248—£326,067
2024-25354£245,353£31,653£28,193£25,338—£330,536
2025-26141£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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£239,525
Bought-in services3£3,864
Training - staff4£1,963

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Advertising and contact cards36£5,364
Pooled staffing services2£5,263
Rent1£4,677
Utilities23£2,576
Stationery & printing34£2,502
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage17£2,150

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£24,850
Utilities14£2,020
Council tax1£973
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage13£350

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Air travel3£16,564
Mileage - car4£2,608
Rail2£2,135
Parking1£1,980
Hotel - UK Not London1£1,267
Hotel - European1£299

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£239,525£239,525
31 March 2025AccommodationRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£24,850£24,850
31 March 2025MP TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£13,868£13,868
31 March 2025Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£4,677£4,677
28 May 2024Office CostsPooled staffing servicesPolicy Research Unit (Conservative)£3,548£3,548
31 March 2025Staff TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£2,202£2,202
26 November 2024StaffingBought-in servicesProfessional & consultancy£2,055£2,055
31 March 2025MP TravelParkingAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,980£1,980
16 August 2024Office CostsPooled staffing servicesPolicy Research Unit (Conservative)£1,715£1,715
31 March 2025MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,580£1,580
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,547£1,547
15 October 2024StaffingBought-in servicesProfessional & consultancy£1,372£1,372
31 March 2025Staff TravelHotel - UK Not LondonAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,267£1,267
6 March 2025Office CostsStationery & printingSolway Print Limted - Letter Headed Paper£1,200£1,200
15 April 2024AccommodationCouncil taxWestminster Council. 2024/2025£973£973

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