§ Norman BakerTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the total income from public funds of the Lord Chancellor has been for each year from I May 1997, broken down by(a) salary and (b) expenses claimed. [96417]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Lord Chancellor's annual salary during the period in question and from the date shown in each case was as follows:
18W
£ 1 April 1997 140,665 1 December 1998 142,506 1 April 1998 148,850
£ 1 December 1998 151,002 1 April 1999 160,011 1 April 2000 167,760 1 April 2001 173,875 1 April 2002 180,045 Under section 3 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 and the Ministerial and Other Salaries Order 1996 the Lord Chancellor's salary is set at £2,500 more than the salary of the Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales. In a recently published report the Senior Salaries Review Body (the SSRB) stated that it was proposing to review the relationship between judicial salaries and those of the Senior Civil Service. The Lord Chancellor has asked that this review be extended to cover the statutory relationship between his own salary and that of the Lord Chief Justice.
The Department's Ministers do not have personal expense accounts. Costs incurred by Ministers, in the course of their official duties, are met by the Department. Occasionally, Ministers pay such costs themselves and are then reimbursed, rather than having them billed direct to the Department. Since 1 May 1997, the Lord Chancellor has paid, and been reimbursed for, the following amounts. These costs were incurred in furtherance of departmental objectives including, for example, the provision of hospitality to overseas judges.
£ 1997–98 0 1998–99 149.71 1999–2000 1,113.49 2000–01 159.91 2001–02 0 2002–03 1,033.19