MPs’ business costs

Stuart Anderson

IPSA paid £1,359,413 against 1,261 published rows for Stuart Anderson between 2019-20 and 2025-26 as the member for Wolverhampton South West BC, then South Shropshire 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

186 claims, £234,920 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	£180,919	77.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	146	£23,894	10.2%
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.	29	£24,965	10.6%
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.	5	£5,053	2.2%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	4	£89	0.0%

Every year in the register

Stuart Anderson’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2019-20 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
2019-20	85	£32,331	£16,481	£4,108	£3,504	—	£56,424
2020-21	301	£151,732	£32,883	£21,678	£4,278	—	£210,571
2021-22	186	£180,919	£23,894	£24,965	£5,053	£89	£234,920
2022-23	209	£191,997	£20,920	£25,055	£4,584	£154	£242,711
2023-24	193	£217,053	£17,019	£31,093	£5,445	—	£270,611
2024-25	192	£212,504	£24,553	£30,582	£6,505	£28,960	£303,103
2025-26	95	£1,476	£20,880	£6,237	—	£12,480	£41,073

A year in which Stuart Anderson 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 type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£177,931
Pooled staffing services	1	£2,988

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£6,700
Equipment - purchase	25	£4,969
Stationery & printing	14	£4,516
Utilities	29	£2,326
Insurance - buildings	3	£1,216
Software & applications	31	£1,120

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£17,836
Utilities	17	£3,768
Council tax	11	£3,360

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Mileage - car	1	£4,255
Congestion charge & toll	1	£513
Rail	1	£165
Railcard	1	£70
Hotel - London	1	£50

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	4	£89

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£177,931	£177,931
31 March 2022	Accommodation	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£17,836	£17,836
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£6,700	£6,700
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Mileage - car	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£4,255	£4,255
1 April 2021	Staffing	Pooled staffing services	Policy Research Unit (Conservative)	£2,988	£2,988
22 January 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£1,362	£1,362
21 March 2022	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£968	£968
22 January 2022	Accommodation	Council tax	Council Tax - 4 months	£945	£945
24 September 2021	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printer Cartridges	£779	£779
26 February 2022	Accommodation	Utilities	Dual Fuel	£730	£730
15 December 2021	Office Costs	Software & applications	Office software	£600	£600
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Congestion charge & toll	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£513	£513
19 April 2021	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printer Cartridges	£489	£489
10 February 2022	Accommodation	Utilities	Dual Fuel	£477	£477
26 October 2021	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Printer cartridges	£463	£463

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 Stuart Anderson 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 · Stuart Anderson’s register of interests and votes · Sources