§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many(a) special advisers, (b) task force members and (c) review body members his Department employs; what is the total salary and benefits of (a) to (c); and what was the equivalent cost prior to 1 May. [19305]
§ Mrs LiddellThe Treasury employs five Special Advisers, four paid and one unpaid. In addition, two paid appointments to the Council of Economic Advisers have been made on Special Adviser terms. Information on the paybill costs for Special Advisers within individual departments cannot be provided, in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned. Information on the total paybill for Special Advisers was given in the answers my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave to the hon. Members for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) and for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) on 25 November 1997,Official Report, columns 472–73.
The Private Finance Projects Taskforce (Treasury Taskforce Ltd.) is a private company. It employs nine staff. Salaries and benefits are a matter for the company but the full annual budget will be below the £2.5 million budget for the former Private Finance Panel, which was stood down on 30 September.
The Task Force on Tax and Benefits does not employ any staff. The Chairman is unpaid and does not receive any expenses.
The remaining members of both Taskforces are officials or private sector secondees filling official posts. It is not possible to distinguish the cost of their time spent on Taskforce-related work.
103WThe Chancellor's Department and Agencies do not employ any review body members.