§ Mr. HainTo ask the Prime Minister what was the number of Government political advisers for each year since 1980–81.
§ The Prime MinisterThe information requested has not been regularly collected centrally. The available information on the number of special advisers—including expert advisers—is as follows:
Number July 1988 30 October 1989 31 October 1990 33 November 1991 39 November 1992 38 May 1993 42
§ Mr. HainTo ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure on Government political advisers broken down into salaries and other costs for each year since 1980–81 in(a) cash and (b) 1992–93 prices.
§ The Prime MinisterPrecise total salary bills and aggregate figures for 1980–81—1987–88 are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The aggregate figures for 1988–1993 available are as follows:
As at Paybill1 £ million 1992–93 prices2 £ million June 1993 1.37 1.34 September 1992 1.30 1.30 September 1991 1.10 1.14 July 1990 0.95 1.05 June 1989 0.93 1.11 September 1988 0.74 0.94 1 Not including ERNIC and other personnel overheads. 2Calculated using the GDP deflator.