Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff of each grade are employed by his Department to assist special advisers. (321135)

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers states that, in order to enable special advisers to work effectively, departments may allocate permanent civil servants to provide support of a non-political nature. In DEFRA, two members of the Secretary of State’s private office assist the special advisers; they are an executive officer and an administrative officer.