Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the political advisers to Ministers in October 1993 were in which Department; how many were on which salary spine point; how many were aged under 34, 34 and 35 years and above; and how many had served less than two years, two but less than three years, three but less than four years and four years and over.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIn October 1993, 30 political advisers were serving in 18 departments as shown in table1.The numbers on each salary spine point is given in table2.Three advisers were not paid on the normal salary spine points. Of those, two were on secondment and their salary was reimbursed to their employer. The third was paid on a personal basis.
Information on the ages of special advisers is not held centrally.
For severence payment purposes, 18 political advisers had served in their current appointments less than two years, eight had served two but less than three years, three had served three but less than four years and one had served four years and over.
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Table 1 Department Number of political advisers Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1 Cabinet Office (including Prime Minister's Office, Chief Whips Office, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's Office) 8 Ministry of Defence 1 Department of Education 1 Department of Employment 1 Department of the Environment 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2 Department of Health 1 Home Office 2 House of Lords 1
Department Number of political advisers Department of National Heritage 1 Northern Ireland Office 1 Scottish Office 2 Department of Social Security I Department of Trade and Industry 1 Department of Transport 1 Her Majesty's Treasury 2 Welsh Office 1
Table 2 Spine point Number on spine point 1 — 2 1 3 — 4 — 5 2 6 1 7 — 8 2 9 1 10 1 11 1 12 — 13 1 14 1 15 1 16 — 17 — 18 1 19 — 20 — 21 2 22 1 23 1 24 4 25 — 26 1 27 — 28 4 29 — 30 1