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Costs of services and general and administrative costs - Summary of Operating Costs (Detail) - GBP (£) £ in Millions | 6 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Jun. 30, 2018 | Jun. 30, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2017
Analysis of income and expense [abstract] |  |  |  |  |  |
Costs of services |  | £ 6,218.7 | £ 6,282.3 | [1],[2] | £ 12,629.0 | [1],[2]
General and administrative costs |  | 432.1 | 643.7 | [1],[2] | 1,267.0 | [1],[2]
Costs of services and general and administrative costs |  | 6,650.8 | 6,926.0 | [2] | 13,896.0 | [2]
Costs of services and general and administrative costs include: |  |  |  |  |  |
Staff costs |  | 4,032.6 | 4,177.0 | [2] | 8,319.0 | [2]
Establishment costs |  | 433.7 | 443.9 | [2] | 888.6 | [2]
Media pass-through costs |  | 740.9 | 701.6 | [2] | 1,429.4 | [2]
Data collection pass-through costs |  | 286.6 | 314.2 | [2] | 646.4 | [2]
Other costs of services and general and administrative costs | [3] | 1,157.0 | 1,289.3 | [2] | 2,612.6 | [2]
Costs of services and general and administrative costs |  | 6,650.8 | 6,926.0 | [2] | 13,896.0 | [2]
Staff costs include: |  |  |  |  |  |
Wages and salaries |  | 2,805.4 | 2,919.1 |  | 5,832.3 |
Cash-based incentive plans |  | 74.1 | 53.8 |  | 219.2 |
Share-based incentive plans |  | 41.6 | 50.6 |  | 105.0 |
Social security costs |  | 367.7 | 370.2 |  | 720.3 |
Pension costs |  | 93.1 | 97.2 |  | 192.0 |
Severance |  | 16.8 | 34.5 |  | 39.5 |
Other staff costs |  | 633.9 | 651.6 |  | 1,210.7 |
Staff costs |  | 4,032.6 | 4,177.0 | [2] | 8,319.0 | [2]
Other costs of services and general and administrative costs include: |  |  |  |  |  |
Amortisation and impairment of acquired intangible assets |  | 84.0 | 97.8 |  | 195.1 |
Goodwill impairment |  |  |  |  | 27.1 |
Gains on disposal of investments and subsidiaries |  | (189.9) | (5.9) |  | (129.0) |
(Gains)/losses on remeasurement of equity interests arising from a change in scope of ownership |  | (0.1) | 0.2 |  | 0.3 |
Investment write-downs |  | 1.5 |  |  | 95.9 |
Restructuring costs |  | £ 45.5 | £ 19.2 |  | £ 56.8 |
[1] | Prior year figures have been restated for the impact of the adoption of IFRS 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers and the change in income statement presentation, as described in note 2.
[2] | Prior year figures have been restated for the impact of the adoption of IFRS 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as described in note 2.
[3] | Other costs of services and general and administrative costs include £316.3 million (period ended 30 June 2017: £258.5 million; year ended 31 December 2017: £558.8 million) of other pass-through costs.

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