§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the Prime Minister how many political advisers were employed by Cabinet Ministers in each year since 1979; and what was the cost of these advisers in constant 1994 prices.
§ The Prime MinisterThe information requested has not been collected centrally at regular intervals. Information available on the number of special advisers, including expert advisers' total pay bills and aggregate figures, is as follows:
Table 1: Number of special advisers As at: March 1994 39 May 1993 42 November 1992 38 November 1991 39 October 1990 33 October 1989 31 July 1988 30
Table 2: Cost of special advisers As at: 1Paybill £million 21993–94 prices £million March 1994 1.38 1.38 June 1993 1.37 1.42 September 1992 1.30 1.37 September 1991 1.10 1.23 July 1990 0.95 1.12 June 1989 0.93 1.22 September 1988 0.74 1.02 1 Not including ERNIC and other personnel overheads 2 Calculated using the GDP deflator