MPs’ business costs

Pete Wishart

IPSA paid £3,070,348 against 2,185 published rows for Pete Wishart between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Perth and North Perthshire CC, then Perth and Kinross-shire 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, 2016-17

145 claims, £169,978 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.	5	£105,523	62.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	112	£21,919	12.9%
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	£18,510	10.9%
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	£24,025	14.1%

Every year in the register

Pete Wishart’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	81	£88,677	£16,070	£15,296	£17,199	—	£137,241
2011-12	131	£108,998	£21,722	£17,885	£20,887	—	£169,492
2012-13	142	£110,870	£22,135	£20,125	£22,349	—	£175,478
2013-14	135	£113,800	£18,192	£19,020	£23,229	£4,336	£178,577
2014-15	166	£112,870	£17,209	£17,919	£21,340	£5,185	£174,523
2015-16	163	£103,119	£32,074	£20,349	£21,424	—	£176,966
2016-17	145	£105,523	£21,919	£18,510	£24,025	—	£169,978
2017-18	178	£131,811	£22,740	£21,647	£15,957	—	£192,155
2018-19	177	£136,706	£24,093	£23,251	£32,121	—	£216,171
2019-20	140	£152,150	£22,381	£22,208	£27,669	—	£224,409
2020-21	139	£169,801	£23,225	£20,811	£4,806	£1,130	£219,772
2021-22	117	£150,078	£21,859	£23,173	£16,516	—	£211,626
2022-23	129	£164,347	£21,220	£25,116	£30,928	£244	£241,855
2023-24	150	£183,220	£25,902	£26,136	£32,785	—	£268,042
2024-25	127	£210,487	£26,191	£28,656	£31,654	—	£296,989
2025-26	65	—	£14,494	£2,579	—	—	£17,073

A year in which Pete Wishart 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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£94,963
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£10,500
Professional Services (Staff.)	3	£60

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	9	£9,256
Computer HW Purchase	2	£1,834
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	20	£1,799
Const Office Cleaning	27	£1,608
Advertising	15	£1,459
Const Office Gas	1	£898

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	12	£16,266
Council Tax	1	£817
Water	1	£424
Telephone Usage/Rental	4	£403
Gas	5	£368
Electricity	4	£232

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£24,025

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£94,963	£94,963
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£24,025	£24,025
19 October 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	SNP Group	£10,500	£10,500
5 December 2016	Office Costs	Computer HW Purchase	Payment card Nov/Dec 16	£1,699	£1,699
16 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,479	£1,479
20 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,479	£1,479
18 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,479	£1,479
18 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,479	£1,479
16 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,479	£1,479
16 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408
16 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408
20 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408
16 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408
18 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408
19 April 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,408	£1,408

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 Pete Wishart 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 · Pete Wishart’s register of interests and votes · Sources