Political Advisers

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To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many political advisers were employed in each Government department on 1 August, and what was the annual total salary cost of such advisers, for (i) 1992–93, (ii) 1993–94, (iii) 1994–95, (iv) 1995–96, (v) 1996–97 and (vi) 1997–98; what are the current salary scales on which they are paid; and if he will make a statement. [14806]

At 1 August, Government departments employed the following numbers of paid Special Advisers:

Department	Number employed
Number 10 Downing Street	¹18
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	2
Cabinet Office (Office of Public Service)	1
Chief Whip's Office	2
Department for Culture, Media and Sport	²2
Ministry of Defence	2
Department for Education and Employment	¹5
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions	²3
Foreign and Commonwealth Office	2

Department	Number employed
Department of Health	2
Home Office	2
Department for International Development	2
Lord Privy Seal's Office	2
Northern Ireland Office	2
Privy Council Office	1
Scottish Office	2
Department of Social Security	2
Department of Trade and Industry	2
Her Majesty's Treasury	4
Welsh Office	2
¹ Of which two part-time.
² Of which one part-time.

The total salary cost for 1992–93 is not readily available. However, the paybill for those in post at September 1992 was £1.3 million.The total salary costs for the years 1993–96 are given in the list below:

1 August 1993–31 July 1994: £1,133,590
1 August 1994–31 July 1995: £1,460,733
1 August 1995–31 July 1996: £1,512,622

The total paybill from 1 April 1996 to 31 March 1997 was £1.8 million. The estimated paybill for 1997–98 is £2.6 million. The estimated total paybill for 1997–98 covers various posts, including the Standards and Effectiveness Adviser to the Department for Education and Employment, the UK anti-drugs co-ordinator and his deputy, which are not covered by the earlier paybill figure.

No projected figures are available for future years.

The current salaries in bands of £10,000 are set out in the following table.

Salary band (£)	Number of Advisers
10,001–20,000	6
20,001–30,000	25
30,001–40,000	14
40,001–50,000	8
50,001–60,000	6
60,001–70,000	6
70,001–80,000	1
80,001–90,000	2
90,001–100,000	0
100,001–110,000	1

The table includes the nine Special Advisers appointed since 1 August.

Volume 301: debated on Tuesday 25 November 1997