POLICY ADVISERS (Hansard, 9 April 1974)

§ Q1. Mr. Wyn Roberts
asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the rôle and functions of the newly established political unit under Dr. Bernard Donoughue at No. 10 Downing Street in relation to the CPRS.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)
Dr. Donoughue, who has been appointed as a senior policy adviser at 10 Downing Street, has the help of a small number of specialists who concentrate on day-to-day questions of domestic policy. I am circulating a list of the members of the unit in the OFFICIAL REPORT. They will liaise closely with the Central Policy Review Staff which carries out policy analysis for Ministers collectively.

§ Mr. Roberts
I am grateful to the Prime Minister for that reply. Are all members of the unit paid from public funds? Is this bill justified in view of the party 152 political nature of their work? Have they all been positively vetted? How many more members of the Prime Minister's personal political staff at Downing Street are not members of this unit, and have they been positively vetted?

§ The Prime Minister
The answer to the first question is "Yes, Sir". The answer to the second question is "Yes, Sir, it is justified". Previous Governments have brought in people from outside and they have been paid as civil servants. Regarding vetting, in 1964 I introduced the requirement that all members of the Prime Minister's staff, whether paid from public funds or not, must be positively vetted.

§ Mr. Whitehead
Is it not in the interests of good government that the office of the Prime Minister and that of the Leader of the Opposition should have highly qualified advisers like Dr. Donoughue who are full-time and paid from public funds?

§ The Prime Minister
Yes. I have expressed the view—it came up again yesterday—that there is a case, though it must be a matter for the Leader of the Opposition for the time being to decide, for the provision of staff to be paid from public funds.
I recall that there was one subsidiary clause of the question by the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts) with which I did not deal. He implied that the staff are mainly political. That is not so. When he sees the full list he will see that they come from a very wide background of experience.

§ Mr. Churchill
While recognising the distinction that the Prime Minister draws between property speculation conducted from his private office within the Palace of Westminster and that conducted from offices in Mayfair, may I ask whether he is aware that there is grave concern in this House and in the nation at the growth of these kitchen cabinets? Will he tell us how much the bill to the taxpayer will be for the most recent additions he has made in this respect?

§ The Prime Minister
There is no question of kitchen cabinets here. People have been brought in by all Prime Ministers this century. The hon. Gentleman may recall the names of some of them in a previous administration. I 153 dealt with these matters yesterday and there was full probing in questions afterwards.