MPs’ business costs

Mark Garnier

IPSA paid £2,680,718 against 1,575 published rows for Mark Garnier between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Wyre Forest 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, 2021-22

67 claims, £172,958 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.1£122,42870.8%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.43£19,95111.5%
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.14£24,88414.4%
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.9£5,6953.3%

Every year in the register

Mark Garnier’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
2010-1191£94,831£15,840£22,454£4,648£137,773
2011-12121£106,213£16,720£21,429£6,954£151,316
2012-13144£121,234£16,783£22,509£7,451£167,978
2013-14152£135,145£19,623£23,115£6,232£184,115
2014-15120£123,014£14,014£24,917£6,467£168,412
2015-16121£127,225£15,363£23,292£6,021£171,901
2016-1796£123,610£13,760£23,862£5,133£166,366
2017-1888£121,935£14,088£22,909£5,351£164,283
2018-1986£107,122£13,794£24,908£6,933£152,758
2019-20117£135,405£15,304£24,862£7,201£182,772
2020-2167£144,478£16,043£22,346£3,563£1,020£187,450
2021-2267£122,428£19,951£24,884£5,695£172,958
2022-2384£136,760£11,125£25,692£7,828£181,404
2023-2487£146,381£17,014£27,154£5,431£195,980
2024-2575£207,263£18,651£28,478£6,298£260,690
2025-2659£16,740£12,236£5,586£34,562

A year in which Mark Garnier 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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£122,428

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£5,400
Pooled staffing services1£2,988
Utilities6£1,948
Stationery & printing18£1,539
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage3£1,534
Equipment - purchase5£1,276

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£21,580
Utilities5£1,534
Council tax1£1,415
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage7£355

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Mileage - car4£4,058
Congestion charge & toll1£1,223
Rail2£231
Other public transport1£119
Parking1£65

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year£122,428£122,428
31 March 2022AccommodationRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£21,580£21,580
31 March 2022Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£5,400£5,400
31 March 2022MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2021-22£3,548£3,548
18 May 2021Office CostsPooled staffing servicesPolicy Research Unit (Conservative)£2,988£2,988
10 May 2021AccommodationCouncil taxLAMBETH INTERNET PAYM£1,415£1,415
31 March 2022MP TravelCongestion charge & tollAggregated figure for travel during 2021-22£1,223£1,223
31 March 2021Office CostsLandline phone & internet - installation & equipment purchaseLandline & internet package£1,112£1,112
8 February 2022Office CostsEquipment - purchaseComputer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories£1,038£1,038
10 May 2021Office CostsUtilitiesElectricity£980£980
31 March 2022Office CostsWorking From Home AllowanceAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22£873£873
5 January 2022Office CostsAdvertising and contact cardsAnnual surgery advertisement in fixtures programme 2021£840£840
27 January 2022Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£600£600
1 March 2021Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£600£600
1 October 2021Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline & internet package£538£538

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 Mark Garnier 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 · Mark Garnier’s register of interests and votes · Sources