What Maldon MP John Whittingdale cost taxpayer last year

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show the Conservative MP's total business costs for the 2020-21 financial year were £213,890.31.

The MP's costs were up from £185,134.9 the year before, and above the average for all Members of Parliament, of £203,880.

By comparison, Darren Henry, a fellow Tory MP for Broxtowe, had costs of £280,900 last year, while Philip Hollobone, the member for Kettering, had just £80,700.

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John Whittingdale, who was elected in April 1992, spent £189,000 on office running costs in 2020-21, including £175,000 on staff wages and £14,000 on other office expenditures.

And he spent £22,100 of his accommodation budget (of £23,000), and a further £2,800 on travel and subsistence.

The total costs of MPs last year rose by 4 per cent, to £132.5 million, with almost £300,000 going on hotel claims for just 49 members.

House of Commons

Business costs are the essential costs incurred by MPs while carrying out their parliamentary duties including staffing, office costs and travel.

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MPs cannot claim for personal costs, such as food and drink, during their normal working day, and all claims must be compliant with IPSA rules and accompanied by evidence.

IPSA’s chairman, Richard Lloyd, said compliance with the rules was at 99.7 per cent last year.

He added: “By far the largest area of spending is to pay for the salaries of MPs’ staff.

"In the last financial year MPs and their staff changed how they work to provide their constituents with a service during the pandemic.

“We enabled MPs’ staff to work from home, while the amount spent on parliamentary business travel fell to reflect different working patterns."

The IPSA figures also reveal the 192 individual claims made by John Whittingdale in 2020-21, with the most expensive single claim being for staff payroll – £169,959.39.

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At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense the 62-year-old claimed was £2.16 for stationery and printing.

The average cost of an MP was up 29%, from £158,103, in 2019-20.

Kit Malthouse was the most expensive MP attending the Cabinet in 2020-21, with total costs of £244,312.

This was compared to £178,406 for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and £168,109 for Sir Keir Starmer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson cost the taxpayer £178,406 in expenses last year

MPs' costs are usually broken down into dozens of categories, with staff pay almost always the largest expense.

John Whittingdale's five largest types of costs were:

• Payroll – costing £169,959.39
• Rent – £19,475.00
• Pooled Staffing Services – £5,047.00 
• Bought-in services – £3,579.00
• Advertising and contact cards – £2,409.60

He also spent £1,319.96 on a working from home allowance.