MPs’ business costs

Sir Desmond Swayne

IPSA paid £1,423,936 against 1,191 published rows for Sir Desmond Swayne between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for New Forest West 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, 2017-18

74 claims, £91,733 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	£85,455	93.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	37	£2,715	3.0%
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.	33	£2,614	2.8%
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	£948	1.0%

Every year in the register

Sir Desmond Swayne’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	89	£60,080	£2,607	£3,134	£2,224	—	£68,045
2011-12	101	£79,404	£2,441	£2,714	£2,202	£134	£86,894
2012-13	101	£80,717	£2,425	£3,095	£2,267	—	£88,505
2013-14	104	£79,811	£2,780	£3,766	£1,885	—	£88,242
2014-15	99	£75,303	£2,329	£3,831	£2,765	—	£84,228
2015-16	79	£72,884	£5,287	£2,788	£543	—	£81,502
2016-17	86	£74,352	£3,003	£3,468	£1,435	—	£82,258
2017-18	74	£85,455	£2,715	£2,614	£948	—	£91,733
2018-19	77	£79,911	£2,770	£3,472	£1,114	—	£87,267
2019-20	63	£73,451	£3,431	£2,923	£1,501	—	£81,307
2020-21	73	£101,792	£8,650	£4,718	£1,596	—	£116,757
2021-22	69	£93,231	£6,055	£3,200	£1,349	—	£103,834
2022-23	58	£99,552	£5,125	£4,739	£1,607	—	£111,023
2023-24	54	£104,620	£4,942	£3,935	£1,691	—	£115,188
2024-25	42	£115,190	£9,181	£3,658	£1,796	—	£129,825
2025-26	22	—	£2,623	£4,705	—	—	£7,328

A year in which Sir Desmond Swayne 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, 2017-18

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£80,775
Pooled Services: Direct	2	£4,680

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Computer SW Purchase	1	£900
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	15	£834
Stationery Purchase	2	£373
Advertising	11	£290
Website - Hosting	1	£188
Postage Purchase	5	£79

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Hotel London Area	33	£2,614

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£948

Largest claims, 2017-18

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 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£80,775	£80,775
30 June 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,680	£2,680
1 April 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	ERG	£2,000	£2,000
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£948	£948
30 June 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	PRU	£900	£900
15 November 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£211	£211
10 June 2017	Office Costs	Website - Hosting	to July 17	£188	£188
15 March 2018	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	XMA Ltd	£162	£162
14 December 2017	Accommodation	Hotel London Area	Dec17 hotels	£150	£150
31 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Office Oct/Nov 17	£139	£139
31 January 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	office Jan 18	£132	£132
29 June 2017	Accommodation	Hotel London Area	hotels jun 17	£112	£112
29 March 2018	Accommodation	Hotel London Area	accom March 18	£84	£84
22 March 2018	Accommodation	Hotel London Area	accom March 18	£84	£84
19 March 2018	Accommodation	Hotel London Area	accom March 18	£84	£84

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 Sir Desmond Swayne 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 · Sir Desmond Swayne’s register of interests and votes · Sources