MSP expenses cost taxpayers £12.2m in past year MSPs claimed a total of £12.2 million in expenses in the past 12 months, down £500,000 on the previous year. Media training skills, hotel stays in Edinburgh and even the cost of a new kitchen were among the claims that were met by taxpayers in 2012-13. The bill for external consultants and contractors hired by MSPs topped £50,000 while thousands of pounds in taxi fares also came out of the public purse - including many short journeys from politicians" Edinburgh homes to the parliament at Holyrood. The biggest bill came from Orkney MSP Liam McArthur who claimed almost £46,000, but this was mainly down to travelling costs associated with his island constituency. The lowest bill was from independent MSP Margo MacDonald who represents the Lothian seat and charged just £2,627. Disgraced former MSP Bill Walker racked up thousands of pounds of hotel bills in Edinburgh, despite his Dunfermline constituency lying less then 20 miles from the capital. The 71-year-old claimed for dozens of overnight stays in the capital at more than £100 a night. Walker lives in Alloa, which is outside his constituency but still less than 40 miles from Edinburgh. He was entitled to claim for overnight stays in Edinburgh and chalked up just over £2,600 in hotel expenses, including hundreds of pounds in evening meals and expenses. Walker faces sentencing on Friday after being found guilty of 23 charges, including attacks on three of his ex-wives after a controversial trial earlier this year. He also claimed £259 for emergency first aid at work courses for two members of his staff, as well two claims of £50 to buy new pairs of glasses for staff. The bill for outside contractors and consultancy was £50,551, with Nationalist Chic Brodie forking out more than £19,000 on this as part of his staff costs. Thousands of pounds were also shelled out on media training for politicians and their staff. George Adam, Jim Eadie and Gordon MacDonald were among the many SNP MSPs to claim for media skills courses. The cost of taxis to ferry MSPs about topped £22,000. There were hundreds of fares of just a few pounds, which included many journeys from MSPs" taxpayer-funded Edinburgh homes to work in the parliament. A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: "The decrease in expenses of more than £500,000 is a reflection of one-off election costs in the previous year but also that 2012-13 represented year-two of a two-year pay and expenses freeze for MSPs." MSPs spent £6,720 on tea, coffee and biscuits for meetings and £7,643 on hotel evening meals. They also claimed £729 for refreshments while staying in accommodation in Edinburgh, with Labour MSPs Mary Fee and Margaret McDougall claiming a respective £181.85 and £129.65. A total of £15,861 was spent on training MSPs" staff. The SNP's Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North, claimed £1,584 for a kitchen unit, worktop, towel ring and new door in May last year. In June alone last year, Alasdair Allan, MSP for North East Scotland, claimed £76 for tea, coffee and biscuits. MSP for Clydeside Aileen Campbell claimed £154 for a fruit buffet at her office and minister for community safety, Roseanna Cunningham, claimed £504 for her mobile phone bill in one month. The salary, pension and national insurance contributions of those employed by MSPs in 2012-13 was £8,915,847. Expenditure on childcare vouchers was £24,032 and security-related and disability provision expenditure was £17,177. First Minister Alex Salmond claimed £11,637 on expenses such as office rent, staff mileage, newspaper subscriptions and phone bills. Labour leader Johann Lamont spent £18,434 which includes claims for taxis, hotel accommodation in Edinburgh and office costs. Conservative leader Ruth Davidson claimed back £16,119 in expenses including £4,899 for hotel stays, while Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie claimed £13,775. What your MSP claimed Jamie Stone (LD) Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross£38 Robert Brown (LD) Glasgow£61 Margo MacDonald (Ind) Lothian£2,627 Jayne Baxter, right, (Lab) Mid Scotland and Fife £3,133 Gavin Brown (Cons) Lothian£3,802 Kezia Dugdale (Lab) Lothians£3,990 David McLetchie (Cons) Lothian£5,071 Sarah Boyack (Lab) Lothian£8,754 Marco Biagi (SNP) Edinburgh Central£9,447 Neil Findlay (Lab) Lothian £9,972 Annabelle Ewing (SNP) Mid Scotland and Fife£10,098 Malcolm Chisholm (Lab) Edinburgh North and Leith£10,575 John Wilson (SNP) Central Scotland£11,621 Alex Salmond (SNP) Aberdeenshire East£11,637 Colin Beattie (SNP) Midlothian North and Musselburgh £11,964 Shona Robison (SNP) Dundee City East£12,038 John Swinney (SNP) Perthshire North £12,342 John Park (Lab) Mid Scotland and Fife £12,524 Graeme Pearson (Lab) South Scotland£12,889 Helen Eadie (Lab) Cowdenbeath£12,953 Annabel Goldie (Cons) West Scotland£13,004 Brian Adam (SNP) Aberdeen Donside£13,342 Colin Keir (SNP) Edinburgh Western £13,625 Clare Baker (Lab) Mid-Scotland and Fife £13,660 Willie Rennie (LD) Mid-Scotland and Fife£13,775 Alison Johnstone (Green) Lothians £13,798 Siobhan McMahon (Lab) Central Scotland£13,904 Elizabeth Smith (Cons) Mid-Scotland and Fife£14,585 Fiona Hyslop (SNP) Linlithgow£14,665 Drew Smith (Lab) Glasgow£14,682 David Torrance (SNP) Kirkcaldy £14,811 Clare Adamson (SNP) Central Scotland£15,061 Mark Griffin (Lab) Central Scotland £15,260 Anne McTaggart (Lab) Glasgow£15,415 Angela Constance (SNP) Almond Valley£15,498 Humza Yousaf (SNP) Glasgow£15,567 Hanzala Malik (Lab) Glasgow£15,769 Richard Lyle (SNP) Central Scotland£16,086 Ruth Davidson, (Cons) Glasgow£16,119 Roderick Campbell (SNP) North East Fife£16,364 Fergus Ewing (SNP) Inverness and Nairn£16,364 Gordon MacDonald (SNP) Edinburgh Pentlands£16,665 Richard Simpson (Lab) Mid-Scotland and Fife £16,765 Jenny Marra (Lab) North-east Scotland £17,168 Roseanna Cunningham (SNP) Perthshire South and Kinross-shire£17,279 Iain Gray (Lab) East Lothian £17,438 Murdo Fraser (Cons) Mid Scotland and Fife£17,612 Stewart Stevenson (SNP) Banffshire and Buchan Coast £17,912 Tricia Marwick (Ind) Mid Fife and Glenrothes£18,038 Richard Baker (Lab) North East Scotland£18,070 Neil Bibby (Lab) West Scotland£18,199 Aileen Campbell (SNP) Clydesdale£18,399 Kenny MacAskill (SNP) Edinburgh Eastern£18,419 Johann Lamont (Lab) Glasgow Pollok£18,434 John Pentland (Lab) Motherwell and Wishaw£18,724 Christine Grahame (SNP) Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale£18,874 Nanette Milne (Cons) North-east Scotland £18,883 Richard Lochhead (SNP) Moray£19,381 Jim Eadie (SNP) Edinburgh Southern £19,401 Duncan McNeil (Cons) Greenock and Inverclyde£19,420 Jim Hume (LD) South Scotland£19,564 Margaret Mitchell (Cons) Central Scotland£19,860 Adam Ingram (SNP) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley £19,906 Michael Matheson (SNP) Falkirk East£19,990 Bob Doris (SNP) Glasgow£20,067 Rob Gibson (SNP) Caithness, Sutherland and Ross £20,271 Sandra White (SNP) Glasgow Kelvin£20,494 Michael McMahon (Lab) Uddingston and Bellshill£20,640 John Mason (SNP) Glasgow Shettleston£20,858 Aileen McLeod (SNP) South Scotland£21,309 Joe Fitzpatrick (SNP) Dundee City West£21,509 Fiona McLeod (SNP) Strathkelvin and Bearsden£21,590 Jackson Carlaw (Cons) West Scotland£21,604 James Kelly (Lab) Rutherglen £21,827 Gil Paterson (SNP) Clydebank and Milngavie£22,015 Elaine Murray (Lab) Dumfries-shire£22,229 Paul Wheelhouse (SNP) South Scotland£22,384 Patricia Ferguson (Lab) Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn£22,436 Jamie Hepburn (SNP) Cumbernauld and Kilsyth£22,510 Elaine Smith (Lab) Coatbridge and Chryston£22,534 Bruce Crawford (SNP) Stirling£23,150 Keith Brown (SNP) Clackmannanshire and Dunblane£23,577 Bill Kidd (SNP) Glasgow Anniesland£23,670 Mary Fee (Lab) West Scotland£23,720 Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) Glasgow Southside£23,888 Margaret McCulloch (Lab) Central Scotland£24,206 Mary Scanlon (Cons) Highlands and Islands£24,691 Derek Mackay (SNP) Renfrewshire North and West£24,924 Paul Martin (Lab) Glasgow Provan£24,958 Bill Walker, (Ind/SNP) Dunfermline£25,008 Christina McKelvie (SNP) Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse£25,094 Hugh Henry (Lab) Renfrewshire South£25,269 Margaret McDougall (Lab) West of Scotland£25,359 James Dornan (SNP) Cathcart£25,371 Stewart Maxwell (SNP) West Scotland£25,510 Maureen Watt (SNP) Aberdeen South and North Kincardine£25,532 John Finnie (Ind) Highlands and Islands£26,129 Patrick Harvie, (Green) Glasgow£26,144 John Scott (Cons) Ayr£26,325 Stuart McMillan (SNP) West Scotland£26,429 Jackie Baillie (Lab) Dumbarton£26,832 George Adam (SNP) Paisley£27,151 David Stewart (Lab) Highlands and Islands£27,198 Rhoda Grant (Lab) Highlands and Islands£27,441 Alison McInnes (LD) North-east Scotland£27,607 Kevin Stewart (SNP) Aberdeen Central£28,071 Linda Fabiani (SNP) East Kilbride£28,329 Claudia Beamish (Lab) South of Scotland£28,636 David Thompson (SNP) Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch£28,680 Michael Russell (SNP) Argyll and Bute£28,876 Margaret Burgess (SNP) Cunninghame South£29,238 Alex Johnstone (Cons) North East Scotland£29,338 Willie Coffey (SNP) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley£29,435 Graeme Dey (SNP) Angus South£29,653 Mark McDonald (SNP) Aberdeen Donside£29,881 Nigel Don (SNP) Angus North and Mearns£30,005 Angus MacDonald (SNP) Falkirk East£30,066 Dennis Robertson (SNP) Aberdeenshire West£30,086 John Lamont (Cons) South of Scotland£30,386 Alex Fergusson (Cons) Galloway and West Dumfries£30,567 Mike MacKenzie (SNP) Highlands and Islands£30,780 Jamie McGrigor (Cons) Highlands and Islands£31,737 Alex Neil (SNP) Airdrie and Shotts£31,925 Lewis Macdonald (Lab) North-east Scotland£32,381 Alasdair Allan (SNP) Western Isles£32,751 Joan McAlpine (SNP) South Scotland£33,741 Jean Urquhart (Ind/SNP) Highlands and Islands£34,973 Kenneth Gibson (SNP) Cunninghame North£37,976 Chic Brodie (SNP) South of Scotland£39,531 Tavish Scott (LD) Shetland Islands£40,967 Ken Macintosh (Lab) Eastwood£42,474 Liam McArthur, (LD) Orkney Islands£46,931