MPs’ business costs

Sir John Whittingdale

IPSA paid £2,485,082 against 1,456 published rows for Sir John Whittingdale between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Maldon 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, 2010-11

83 claims, £85,874 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.	2	£73,776	85.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	53	£4,449	5.2%
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.	27	£4,943	5.8%
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	£2,706	3.2%

Every year in the register

Sir John Whittingdale’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	83	£73,776	£4,449	£4,943	£2,706	—	£85,874
2011-12	93	£86,749	£7,500	£3,550	£3,570	—	£101,370
2012-13	89	£87,570	£8,295	£15,763	£4,171	—	£115,799
2013-14	80	£94,981	£6,793	£20,000	£4,654	—	£126,428
2014-15	91	£96,062	£9,001	£20,600	£4,660	—	£130,323
2015-16	89	£102,501	£7,587	£20,600	£2,834	—	£133,522
2016-17	105	£105,067	£9,681	£20,600	£4,344	—	£139,692
2017-18	85	£130,310	£11,101	£22,760	£3,279	—	£167,450
2018-19	84	£148,378	£13,562	£20,946	£4,955	—	£187,841
2019-20	101	£146,392	£12,896	£24,830	£2,845	—	£186,963
2020-21	86	£175,006	£13,911	£19,100	£2,773	—	£210,791
2021-22	68	£167,258	£10,474	£23,293	£3,876	—	£204,901
2022-23	113	£166,205	£15,178	£26,130	£4,447	—	£211,960
2023-24	116	£179,501	£16,705	£26,840	£4,396	£912	£228,353
2024-25	103	£200,835	£9,586	£29,290	£4,415	—	£244,125
2025-26	70	—	£9,690	—	—	—	£9,690

A year in which Sir John Whittingdale 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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£71,367
Pooled Staffing Services	1	£2,409

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Advertising	11	£1,293
Payment Telephone/Mobile	14	£907
Telephone/Mobile Hire	10	£403
Contact Cards	2	£352
Stationery Purchase	3	£341
Printer Purchase	1	£233

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mortgage Interest	11	£1,860
Council Tax	2	£1,438
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£406
Home Contents Insurance	1	£399
Buildings Insurance	1	£243
Electricity	3	£182

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£2,706

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2010-11 year	£71,367	£71,367
31 March 2011	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2010-11	£2,706	£2,706
10 May 2010	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRU Subscription	£2,409	£2,409
17 March 2011	Accommodation	Council Tax	London Accomodation Expenses	£756	£756
7 May 2010	Accommodation	Council Tax	London Accomodation expenses	£682	£682
24 November 2010	Accommodation	Home Contents Insurance	London Accommodation Expenses	£399	£399
3 June 2010	Office Costs	Advertising	BDH Review	£360	£360
30 March 2011	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	London Accommodation Expenses	£243	£243
23 March 2011	Office Costs	Printer Purchase	Office Costs Feb- Mar 2011	£233	£233
30 June 2010	Office Costs	Advertising	Office expenses	£223	£223
11 May 2010	Office Costs	Advertising	Point Graphics Ltd	£223	£223
16 February 2011	Office Costs	Advertising	Office Costs Feb- Mar 2011	£192	£192
6 December 2010	Office Costs	Venue Hire	—	£180	£180
28 May 2010	Office Costs	Contact Cards	Keep Bros Ltd	£179	£179
31 July 2010	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	London Accomodation expenses	£176	£176

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 John Whittingdale 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 John Whittingdale’s register of interests and votes · Sources