64. Mr. V. ADAMSasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the probable total emoluments, including salary and fees, of the English Law Officers for the current year, taking the average fees earned by their predecessors for the last three years?
§ Major ELLIOTThe salary of each of the English Law Officers for the current year is £2,000, and the average fees earned by their predecessors for the last three years are:
The total emoluments of the Law Officers for the current year will depend on the amount of litigation in which the Crown is involved and cannot properly be estimated by reference to the average earnings from fees in preceding years.
£ Attorney-General … … 15,937 Solicitor-General … … 5,116
§ Mr. MACQUISTENIs it not the case that the Law Officers are paid what might be called the average trade union rates, and that, if there is a lot of work to do, their income is large and, if there is less, it is small; and will my right hon. Friend accept my assurance that we are all tired of this continued sniping at the Law Officers, because they do their duty extremely well? It prevailed in the last Parliament, and I am sorry to see it continuing in this.