§ Mr. Russell Johnstonasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he can publish a table showing the salaries of a private secretary to an hon. Member of Parliament based on the secretarial allowance as compared to a private secretary to an assistant secretary in the Civil Service showing—where appropriate—incremental increases after five, 10, 15 and 20 years and superannuation and pension arrangements.
§ Mr. ChannonMembers may reclaim actual expenditure on secretarial assistance up to a maximum, currently, of £4,200, but it is for individual Members to decide the salaries they pay their secretaries. The Government has accepted the recommendation in the twelfth report from the Review Body on Top Salaries
346Win 1979–80, particularly courses in commercial and clerical subjects.
The ratio of women to men on clerical-commercial courses, and on all TOPS courses, in 1978–79 is shown below:
how this relationship would alter at the end of this year following the proposed increase of £1,750 to hon. Members of Parliament and the proposed increase of 30 per cent. to the Civil Service.
§ Mr. ChannonTo provide information in respect of all Civil Service grades would involve disproportionate costs. However, the details for the main grades in the administration group is given in the table below. The present salary of a Member of Parliament is £6,897, and under the proposals which my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House put to the House on 21 June, this will rise to £8,593 from 13 June 1979.
that this limit should be increased to £4,600 as a temporary measure pending a more detailed review of the allowance in a further report.
The salary scale of a personal secretary to an assistant secretary in the Civil Service ranges from £3,004 by six increments to £3,778. Personal secretaries are covered by the principal Civil Service pension scheme.