MPs’ business costs

Sammy Wilson

IPSA paid £2,818,050 against 2,764 published rows for Sammy Wilson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for East Antrim 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, 2012-13

139 claims, £149,101 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	£107,829	72.3%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	92	£18,966	12.7%
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.	43	£7,628	5.1%
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	£14,678	9.8%

Every year in the register

Sammy Wilson’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	73	£82,451	£4,582	£10,078	£11,720	—	£108,831
2011-12	83	£106,124	£8,311	£11,464	£16,899	—	£142,798
2012-13	139	£107,829	£18,966	£7,628	£14,678	—	£149,101
2013-14	115	£100,922	£19,946	£19,436	£22,872	£425	£163,602
2014-15	122	£91,522	£22,018	£19,648	£17,159	—	£150,345
2015-16	175	£104,691	£25,136	£20,315	£19,425	—	£169,568
2016-17	223	£111,051	£23,120	£20,610	£20,818	£455	£176,054
2017-18	204	£119,623	£24,071	£21,559	£23,707	—	£188,961
2018-19	209	£126,722	£23,110	£22,579	£27,300	—	£199,710
2019-20	242	£144,513	£26,568	£17,273	£27,629	—	£215,984
2020-21	293	£148,076	£25,597	£13,487	£16,345	—	£203,505
2021-22	214	£139,191	£23,994	£16,206	£24,092	—	£203,483
2022-23	159	£153,907	£25,886	£20,500	£31,138	—	£231,431
2023-24	202	£161,458	£30,965	£23,840	£28,072	—	£244,336
2024-25	200	£170,994	£28,520	£27,809	£24,350	—	£251,674
2025-26	111	£358	£15,714	£2,594	—	—	£18,666

A year in which Sammy Wilson 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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£107,702
Health and Welfare Costs	2	£127

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Other	57	£5,675
Const Office Rent	4	£5,500
Stationery Purchase	17	£4,478
Const Office Buildings Insur.	1	£1,008
Other Equip Purchase	3	£740
Training MP Staff	1	£342

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mortgage Interest	5	£3,575
Service Charges	5	£2,120
Water	2	£867
Council Tax	10	£572
Other Fuel	4	£333
Television Licence	11	£67

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£14,678

Largest claims, 2012-13

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 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£107,702	£107,702
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£14,678	£14,678
19 March 2013	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,375	£1,375
19 December 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,375	£1,375
19 September 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,375	£1,375
19 June 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£1,375	£1,375
17 August 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Buildings Insur.	property insurance	£1,008	£1,008
25 February 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery, toners etc	£935	£935
28 March 2013	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	stationery	£930	£930
21 January 2013	Office Costs	Other	Misc expenses	£840	£840
10 August 2012	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	London Accomodation Aug 2012	£758	£758
10 July 2012	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	198748	£704	£704
11 June 2012	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	London Accommodation June 2012	£704	£704
10 May 2012	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2012 June - London accom May	£704	£704
10 April 2012	Accommodation	Mortgage Interest	2012 May - London accom April	£704	£704

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 Sammy Wilson 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 · Sammy Wilson’s register of interests and votes · Sources