§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Prime Minister how many political advisers are in post in Her Majesty's Government; in which Departments they are in post; what is the salary in each case; and what is the total salary bill of such posts.
§ The Prime MinisterThere are currently 34 political advisers to Ministers employed in the civil service. The number in each Department is as follows:
Number Cabinet Office (including No. 10) 8 Defence 1 Department of the Environment 3 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2 Department of Health 3 Her Majesty's Treasury 3 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1 Department of Education and Science 2 Department of Energy 1 Department of Employment 1 Home Office 2 Lord President of the Council 1 Lord Privy Seal 1 Scottish Office 1 Department of Social Security 1 Department of Trade and Industry 2 Department of Transport 1 It is not our practice to reveal the salary of any advisor as it is negotiated individually in relation to previous earnings and is therefore confidential. They are, however, normally paid on a special advisers' salary spine comprising 30 points, as follows:
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Scale Point Salary (Inclusive) £ 30 57,706 29 55,486 28 53,352 27 52,104 26 50,861 25 49,271 24 47,681 23 45,509 22 43,818 21 42,135 20 40,372 19 38,595 18 36,818 17 35,048 16 32,937 15 31,595 14 30,527 13 29,464 12 28,347 11 27,328 10 26,490 9 25,316 8 24,422 7 23,627 6 22,843 5 22,042 4 20,869 3 20,155 2 19,546 1 18,403 The two most senior special advisers are paid personal salaries above the spine limit of £57,706. The current total salary bill, excluding one adviser who is paid a daily rate, is £1,249,970.