Civometry

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, 2020-21

293 claims, £203,505 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.50£148,07672.8%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.178£25,59712.6%
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.59£13,4876.6%
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.6£16,3458.0%

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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1173£82,451£4,582£10,078£11,720—£108,831
2011-1283£106,124£8,311£11,464£16,899—£142,798
2012-13139£107,829£18,966£7,628£14,678—£149,101
2013-14115£100,922£19,946£19,436£22,872£425£163,602
2014-15122£91,522£22,018£19,648£17,159—£150,345
2015-16175£104,691£25,136£20,315£19,425—£169,568
2016-17223£111,051£23,120£20,610£20,818£455£176,054
2017-18204£119,623£24,071£21,559£23,707—£188,961
2018-19209£126,722£23,110£22,579£27,300—£199,710
2019-20242£144,513£26,568£17,273£27,629—£215,984
2020-21293£148,076£25,597£13,487£16,345—£203,505
2021-22214£139,191£23,994£16,206£24,092—£203,483
2022-23159£153,907£25,886£20,500£31,138—£231,431
2023-24202£161,458£30,965£23,840£28,072—£244,336
2024-25200£170,994£28,520£27,809£24,350—£251,674
2025-26111£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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£126,018
Bought-in services48£21,199
Health & welfare - staff1£859

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent16£12,200
Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs27£2,880
Stationery & printing52£2,616
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage12£1,771
Utilities13£1,763
Business rates2£950

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent12£11,700
Council tax12£1,006
Utilities23£582
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage12£199

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Air travel1£14,253
Mileage - car3£1,705
Other public transport1£352
Rail1£34

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year£126,018£126,018
31 March 2021MP TravelAir travelAggregated figure for travel during 2020-21£14,253£14,253
1 January 2021Office CostsRentLarne office Rent£2,450£2,450
9 October 2020Office CostsRentRent for Larne Cnstituency Office£2,450£2,450
2 July 2020Office CostsRentLarne Constituency office rent£2,450£2,450
10 April 2020Office CostsRentQuarterly rent for Larne Constituenty office 70% shared office£2,450£2,450
3 March 2021AccommodationRentRent for London Accommodation£975£975
2 February 2021AccommodationRentLondon Rent February£975£975
1 January 2021AccommodationRentAccommodation Rent January£975£975
3 December 2020AccommodationRentAccommodation Rent£975£975
6 November 2020AccommodationRentRent for November London Accommodation£975£975
9 October 2020AccommodationRentMonthly rent for London accommodatio£975£975
11 September 2020AccommodationRentMonthly rent for London Accommodation, September£975£975
3 August 2020AccommodationRentMonthly rent for London accommodation£975£975
3 July 2020AccommodationRentMonthly rent for London accommodation£975£975

Claims refused and money repaid, 2020-21

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £46 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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