BRIEFING PAPER
Number 03813, 1 February 2017
Special Advisers
By Michael Everett and
Edward Faulkner
Inside:
1. What are special advisers?
2. Numbers and cost
3. Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers
4. Developments in the role of
special advisers
5. Responsibility of ministers
for special advisers
6. Incidents regarding special
advisers, 2010-2015
7. Extended Ministerial Office
proposal July 2013
www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary
Number 03813, 1 February 2016
Contents
Summary
3
1.
What are special advisers?
4
2.
Numbers and cost
Do the special adviser numbers tell the whole story?
Number and cost of special advisers in post in December 2016
Severance pay for special advisers in July 2016
Numbers of special advisers in post in December 2015
Numbers of special advisers under the Coalition Government
Calls for a cap on the number of special advisers
Numbers and cost of special advisers 1994-2014
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
3.1
3.2
3.3
Code of Conduct for Special Advisers
Background
The 2016 Code
The 2015 Code
The 2010 Code
15
15
15
16
17
4.
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
Developments in the role of special advisers
The code of conduct for special advisers
Special advisers and the Brown Government
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
Training and induction of special advisers
Unpaid advisers
19
19
20
22
23
23
5.
Responsibility of ministers for special advisers
25
6.
Incidents regarding special advisers, 2010-2015
27
7.
Extended Ministerial Office proposal July 2013
29
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3.
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2
3
Special Advisers
Summary
Special advisers are temporary civil servants employed to help Ministers on matters
where it would be inappropriate for permanent civil servants to become involved. They
provide assistance from a standpoint that is more politically committed and politically
aware than would be available to a Minister from the permanent Civil Service.
The role of special advisers has been the subject of intense scrutiny for over a decade,
with ongoing debate around the role and status of special advisers, and also their
numbers and cost.
There were 83 special advisers in post in December 2016. This was down from the 92
departmental special advisers in post in December 2015. In November 2014 there
were 103 special advisers in post – the highest there have been since governments
has been releasing annual transparency figures.
The reduction in number of special advisers between 2015 and 2016 has fallen mostly
on departments. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has 32 special advisers, the same
number that David Cameron had in December 2015.
The pay bill for special advisers for 1 April 2015 to 13 July 2016 was £9.2 million. In
addition, £1.7 million was spent on severance pay.
The estimated pay bill for the period 14 July 2016 to 31 March 2017 is £4.9 million.
The Institute for Government has noted that the distribution of salaries among special
advisers has increased slightly since 2015, meaning that more special advisers earn
above £70,000 relative to other pay bands. The IFG also said that the number of
women employed as special advisers has decreased since Theresa May took office. 1
Special advisers must comply with the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct, which sets
out guidance and rules for the work of special advisers.
A revised Code of Conduct was published on 21 December 2016. The Code states that
special advisers are employed to serve “the Prime Minister and the Government as
whole, not just their appointing Minister”. This provision had first been included in the
2010 Code to reflect the realities of a coalition government but has remained part of the
updated Code.
The changes to the 2016 Code and the new model contract for special advisers are
relatively minor, reflecting and incorporating technical changes to the Ministerial Code.
1
Institute for Government, Government advisers in decline but earning more, 9 January 2017
Number 03813, 1 February 2016
1. What are special advisers?
Special advisers are temporary civil servants employed by the
Government to help ministers on matters where it would be
inappropriate for permanent civil servants to become involved. They
are employed to serve “the Prime Minister and the Government as
whole, not just their appointing Minister”. 2
Special advisers provide assistance from a standpoint that is more
politically committed and politically aware than would be available to a
minister from the permanent Civil Service. They are therefore exempt
from the general requirement that civil servants should be appointed
on merit and behave with political impartiality and objectivity. 3
In common with all civil servants, special advisers are bound by the
Civil Service Code - except the sections (1 and 5) which relate to the
impartiality and objectivity of the Civil Service, and those which relate
to future administrations and potential future ministers (parts of
section 9).
The Code sets out a special adviser’s role in greater detail:
Special advisers are a critical part of the team supporting
Ministers. They add a political dimension to the advice and
assistance available to Ministers while reinforcing the political
impartiality of the permanent Civil Service by distinguishing the
source of political advice and support. 4
According to the Code, special advisers should be fully integrated into
the functioning of government. They work closely with the ministerial
team and with other civil servants, and should “establish mutual
relationships of confidence and trust”. 5 Special advisers may:
2
3
4
5
6
•
give assistance on any aspect of departmental business,
and give advice (including expert advice as a specialist in
a particular field);
•
undertake long term policy thinking and contribute to
policy planning within the Department;
•
write speeches and undertake related research, including
adding party political content to material prepared by
permanent civil servants;
•
liaise with the Party, briefing party representatives and
parliamentarians on issues of government policy;
•
represent the views of their Minister to the media
(including a party viewpoint), where they have been
authorised by the Minister to do so; and
•
liaise with outside interest groups (including those with a
political allegiance). 6
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2016, para 2
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2016, para 8
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2016, para 1
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2016, para 3
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2016, para 3
4
5
Special Advisers
Special advisers’ employment ends at the end of the Administration
which appointed them or when the appointing Minister leaves the
Government or moves to another appointment.
The responsibilities of, and limits on the activities of, special advisers
are contained in five separate documents. These documents
collectively set the framework within which special advisers operate.
The documents are:
•
•
•
•
•
Code of Conduct for Special Advisers;
Model Contract for Special Advisers;
Civil Service Code;
Ministerial Code;
Civil Service Order in Council 1995.
2. Numbers and cost
There were 83 special advisers in post in December 2016. This was
down from the 92 departmental special advisers in post in December
2015. 7 In November 2014 there were 103 special advisers in post –
the highest there have been since UK governments have been
releasing transparency figures.
A table containing figures of special advisers in post going back to
1994 is listed in section 2.2.
The ratio of special advisers employed by the Prime Minister and
those employed as special advisers in other departments has
remained broadly consistent outside the years of the Coalition
Government. In 2016, 2015, 2010, 2009 and 2008 the ratio was
approximately 1:2.
There is no statutory limit on the number of special advisers, but
successive editions of the Ministerial Code have restricted the
number of advisers that most Ministers may appoint. The 2016
Ministerial Code states:
With the exception of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers may
each appoint up to two special advisers. The Prime Minister
may also authorise the appointment of one special adviser by
Ministers who regularly attend Cabinet. Where a Minister has
additional responsibility additional advisers may be allowed. 8
This provision means that the number of special advisers is
effectively controlled by the Prime Minister. During the 2010-15
Coalition Government, the Deputy Prime Minister was also exempt
7
8
The figure of 92 is the number of special advisers listed in the main body of the
Cabinet Office’s transparency release for December 2015. In addition, a footnote
to this release stated that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had appointed three
special advisers to the Council of Economic Advisers. These have been excluded
from the numbers given here as the Cabinet Office did not list them as
departmental special advisers. If they were included, the number of special
advisers in post as at 17 December 2015 would be 95.
Cabinet Office, Ministerial Code, October 2015, para 3.3
Number 03813, 1 February 2016
from the general limitation on one special adviser per Minister. 9
Previous editions of the Ministerial Code did not exclude the Deputy
Prime Minister from the limit on appointing special advisers.
The authorisation, in the 2010 edition of the Ministerial Code, of an
extra adviser for a Minister with additional responsibilities was new,
as similar phrasing did not appear in the Ministerial Codes issued in
2005 and 2007.
Although not referred to in the Ministerial Code it appears that
appointments by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of special advisers
to the Council of Economic Advisors are also exempt from the
restriction on the number of advisers, as they were listed separately
to No 10 and departmental advisers in data releases in 2015. 10
Do the special adviser numbers tell the whole story?
Under section 16 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act
2010, the Government are required to release an annual report on
special advisers, including the number in post. Because the figures
are released annually (usually toward the end of the year), there is
never a complete and consistent set of annual statistics. 11 Those
released each year are those in post at a given date, which may not
be the total number of special advisers in post that year.
There is also a difficulty focusing on the number of special advisers
alone. There is no statutory limit on the number of special advisers,
but successive Prime Ministers have sought to limit the numbers most
Ministers may appoint to two. This restriction was begun by Harold
Wilson in 1975, and in recent years it has been set out in successive
editions of the Ministerial Code. 12
However, the number of special advisers are effectively controlled by
the Prime Minister, and there have been a number of exceptions to
the broad principle of one or two special advisers per Minister. Prime
Ministers and Chancellors have always had more special advisers
(Philip Hammond had five in post in December 2016), while in 2016 a
number of other Ministers, including the Foreign Secretary, had more
than two. 13
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has also appointed special advisers
to the Council of Economic Advisers (3 in these posts as of 17
December 2015). As noted above, these appear to be exempt from
the restriction on the number of advisors, as they are listed separately
9
10
11
12
13
Cabinet Office, Ministerial Code, May 2010, para 3.3
Cabinet Office, Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, December
2015, 17 December 2015
The Coalition Government initially produced quarterly reports of special advisers
in post, but in 2013 defaulted to publishing one report each year. See B Yong and
R Hazell, Special Advisers: Who they are, what they do and why they matter,
2014, p140
Yong and Hazell, Special Advisers, p140
Cabinet Office, Special Advisers data releases: numbers and costs, December
2016, 21 December 2016
6
7
Special Advisers
to No 10 and departmental advisers in data releases. 14 Gordon
Brown did the same while he was Chancellor. 15
The informal cap on special adviser numbers has also been
circumvented by appointing individuals as time-limited civil servants.
The Civil Service Recruitment Principles have several exemptions to
the broad principle of appointment through fair and open competition.
One of these exemptions allows for the appointment of individuals to
the Civil Service for a time-limited period where there is a pressing
need. 16 Ben Yong, Lecturer in Law at Queen Mary’s, London, and
Robert Hazell, Professor of Government and the Constitution at the
Constitution Unit, have labelled these time-limited civil servants as
“policy advisers”. They have argued that:
The numbers, role and work of policy advisers are murky at
best. Some interviewees stated that policy advisers did follow
the Civil Service Code and remained politically impartial. Other
interviewees said that policy advisers were special advisers in
all but name, being treated as such by both the minister and
those around the minister. 17
The adoption of Extended Ministerial Offices (see section 8) by the
Coalition Government in 2013 saw a further exemption being added
to the recruitment principles – one which allowed external appointees
to be appointed as temporary civil servants without an open
competition for a period of up to five years. However, the Civil Service
Recruitment Principles explicitly state that these external appointees
are bound in full by the Civil Service Code, including the requirement
for political impartiality and objectivity. 18
Extended Ministerial Offices are currently in the process of being
disbanded. 19
2.1 Number and cost of special advisers in post
in December 2016
The number of special advisers in post as at 21 December 2016 was
83, down from the “95 special advisers” in post in December 2015. 20
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Cabinet Office, Special Advisers data releases: numbers and costs, December
2015, 17 December 2015
Yong and Hazell, Special Advisers, p143
Civil Service Recruitment Principles April 2015, Appendix A: Exception 1
Yong and Hazell, Special Advisers, p143
Civil Service Recruitment Principles April 2015, Appendix A: Exception 4
PQ59058 [Extended Ministerial Offices], 12 January 2017
Cabinet Office, Special adviser data releases: numbers and cost, 21 December
2016. The figure of 95 special advisers given by the Government differs from the
92 special advisers listed as being in post in December 2015 in table 1 and
section 2.2. This is because the Library’s figures only include the special advisers
listed in the main body of the Cabinet Office’s transparency release for December
2015, i.e. departmental special advisers. In addition, a footnote to the December
2015 release stated that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had appointed three
special advisers to the Council of Economic Advisers. If they were included, the
number of special advisers in post as at 17 December 2015 would be 95. The
Cabinet Office said in a correspondence with the Library that “the Council of
Economic Advisers was not reformed following the reshuffle. Those three special
advisers referred to below were included as a footnote in the 2015 list, as they
were specifically appointed to the CEA. None of the special advisers on the 2016
Number 03813, 1 February 2016
The reduction in number of special advisers has fallen mostly on
departments. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has 32 special
advisers, the same number that David Cameron had in December
2015. In a blog post for the Constitution Unit, Ben Yong and Harmish
Mehta, note that:
The centre (broadly defined as No. 10 and the Cabinet Office)
has ‘lost’ just one spad; the key Whitehall departments have
lost eleven (most significantly from the merging of BIS and
DECC into BEIS; and in the Treasury). 21
The pay bill for special advisers for 1 April 2015 to 13 July 2016 was
£9.2 million. In addition, £1.7 million was spent on severance pay.
The estimated pay bill for the period 14 July 2016 to 31 March 2017 is
£4.9 million. 22
The Institute for Government (IfG) has commented on the December
2016 special adviser figures and cost, noting that:
The distribution of salaries has increased slightly since 2015,
meaning more spads earn above £70,000 relative to other
salary bands, but this is largely because the total number of
spads has decreased. Comparison with earlier years is not
currently possible because the paygrades used before 2015 are
different to those used since. 23
The IfG has also said that the number of women employed as special
advisers has decreased since Theresa May took office:
Between 2010 and 2015, the proportion of female spads
hovered around 35-40%, hitting 38% in December 2015. In
December 2016, this number had fallen to 28%, the steepest
decline since 2010. The decline in female spads is most
pronounced in the Prime Minister’s Office. In 2015, 44% of the
Prime Minister’s spads were women; in 2016 this fell to 28%. 24
Severance pay for special advisers in July 2016
Special advisers are contractually entitled to a certain level of
severance pay, depending on their length of service, as set out in the
Model Contract for Special Advisers. This is because special advisers
are personally appointed by their minister, and their tenure is usually
limited to that of the minister they serve or to the day following a
general election. As a result, the loss of their job or position is often
sudden and it is not possible to give them warning that their contract
is being terminated.
In July 2016, the outgoing Prime Minister, David Cameron, decided
that certain special advisers should be awarded a higher amount of
severance pay than their contracts allowed for. According to a letter
21
22
23
24
list were appointed in this way”. Cabinet Office, Property and Ethics Team, 20
January 2017.
Constitution Unit, ‘The latest special adviser data released: political control
trumps technocratic measures of effectiveness’, 10 January 2016
Cabinet Office, Special adviser data releases: numbers and cost, 21 December
2016
Institute for Government, Government advisers in decline but earning more, 9
January 2017
Institute for Government, Government advisers in decline but earning more, 9
January 2017
8
9
Special Advisers
from the Downing Street Principal Private Secretary, this was to take
account of the “loyal and dedicated service that has been provided to
him over the past six years by his team of Special Advisers”, and
because he was “conscious that the situation they find themselves in
is through no fault of their own”. 25
According to the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary’s letter to the
Downing Street Principal Private Secretary, the total cost of the
proposed severance package for Special Advisers within Downing
Street, i.e., their contractual entitlement, was £747,045. Increasing
the severance to six months for those with long service “would cost
an additional £282,892, leaving a total severance package of
£1,029,938”. 26
The Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary took the view that there was
no case for awarding higher sums of money than those for which the
contract allows for; and his “strong advice” was that “we continue to
abide by the provisions in their contracts of employment”. 27 However,
he recognised “the Prime Minister’s wish is for us to provide greater
recognition for long service, and award six months’ salary for those
Special Advisers with long service who were re-appointed postElection”. He therefore requested a ministerial direction to make the
payments, if the Prime Minister still wished to do so.
In response, the Downing Street Principal Private Secretary said the
Prime Minister “noted” the Permanent Secretary’s concerns, but was
“mindful of the loyal and dedicated service that has been provided to
him over the past six years by his team of Special Advisers, and he is
conscious that the situation they find themselves in is through no fault
of their own”. 28
A ministerial direction was issued by the then Prime Minister,
instructing the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary to “proceed”.
Severance was to be calculated based on six months’ salary for each
of the eligible individuals. This approach was “to be applied across
Government”. 29
2.2 Numbers of special advisers in post in
December 2015
The number of special advisers in post as of 17 December 2015 was
92, which was down from 103 in November 2014 under the previous
Government (see table). 30 However, as the table below shows, the 92
25
26
27
28
29
30
Cabinet Office, Correspondence: special advisers severance pay, Request for a
ministerial direction: the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary writes to the 10
Downing Street Principal Private Secretary, 12 July 2016
Cabinet Office, Correspondence: special advisers severance pay, Request for a
ministerial direction: the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary writes to the 10
Downing Street Principal Private Secretary, 12 July 2016
Ibid.
Cabinet Office, Correspondence: special advisers severance pay, Confirmation of
ministerial direction: the 10 Downing Street Principal Private Secretary to the
Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, 13 July 2016
Ibid.
The figure of 92 is the number of special advisers listed in the main body of the
Cabinet Office’s transparency release for December 2015. In addition, a footnote
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 10
in post as of 17 December 2015 was the highest number of special
advisers employed by a UK Government other than a coalition.
The estimated pay-bill cost for 2015-16 is £8.4 million. 31
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated in January 2015 that the
number of special advisers was lower than it had been under the last
Government. 32 This decrease in the number of special advisers at the
start of the 2015 Parliament has been widely attributed to the end of
the coalition partnership. Francis Maude MP acknowledged to the
Public Administration Committee in June 2012 that there had been an
increase in special adviser numbers under the Coalition which
reflected the “unusual circumstances of a coalition”. 33 An article for
the IfG also attributed the reduction in numbers under the
Conservatives to the end of coalition, arguing that
partway through the last Parliament, a number of additional
Liberal Democrat spads were appointed to support the Deputy
Prime Minister and beef up the Liberal Democrat presence in
Conservative-led departments; clearly there is no need to
directly replace their posts. 34
However, Chris Bryant MP pointed out that the number of special
advisers in post under the Conservatives in December 2015 was
higher than those in post at the end of the last Labour Government. 35
The ratio of special advisers employed by the Prime Minister and
those employed as special advisers in other departments has
remained broadly consistent outside the years of the Coalition
Government. In 2015, 2010, 2009 and 2008 the ratio was
approximately 1:2.
2.3 Numbers of special advisers under the
Coalition Government
The Coalition Agreement of May 2010 included a commitment to “put
a limit on the number on special advisers”, but the 2010 version of the
Ministerial Code created no new restrictions on the number of special
advisers which could be appointed. Arguably, the 2010 version of the
Code opened the way for more special advisers to be appointed by
excluding the Deputy Prime Minister from the limit on appointments
and making allowance for the appointment of special advisers by
Ministers who regularly attend Cabinet, subject to authorisation by the
Prime Minister.
31
32
33
34
35
states that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has appointed three people to the
Council of Economic Advisers. These have been excluded from the numbers
given here as the Cabinet Office does not list them as departmental special
advisers. If they were included, the number of special advisers in post as at 17
December 2015 would be 95.
Cabinet Office, Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, December
2015, 17 December 2015
HC Deb 6 Jan 2016 c283
HC 134 2012-13 Q105
Institute for Government, Ministers reflect: on special advisers, 18 December
2015
HC Deb 7 Jan 2016 c436
11 Special Advisers
As shown in the tables below, the number of special advisers initially
appointed by the Coalition Government was smaller than the number
that had been in post in the final year of the Brown administration.
However, the number of special advisers increased steadily during
the tenure of the Coalition Government, increasing from 68 to 103.
Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude told the Public Administration
Select Committee on 18 June 2012 that the view that numbers should
be limited had not taken account of the unusual circumstances of a
coalition. 36
2.4 Calls for a cap on the number of special
advisers
There have been calls over the years for the number of special
advisers to be capped, although there is not a consensus that this
would be desirable.
In 2000 the Neill Committee on Standards in Public Life
recommended a cap on the overall number of special advisers, 37 and
the Blair Government accepted the need for a cap, in the context of
legislation on the civil service, stating:
The Government accepts that an overall limit on the number of
special advisers should be included in Civil Service legislation.
Once that legislation has been enacted, increases in the limit
will require the consent of both Houses of Parliament. The
Government remains committed to the introduction of such
legislation (see the response to recommendation 17 above). It
will review the appropriate definition and level of the limit when
drawing up the legislation. 38
The 2003 Committee on Standards in Public Life also recommended
in that there should be a statutory limit on the number of special
advisers, and that this should be subject to alteration by resolution of
both Houses. 39 The Government’s response to this report stated that
it no longer accepted the case for a cap on the number of special
advisers:
the Government does not believe that the issue of special
advisers can be considered as a numerical issue. The issue is
about being transparent about accountability, roles and
responsibilities and numbers. 40
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 did not set a
cap on the number of special advisers, although the Joint Committee
set up to scrutinise the draft bill had called for some mechanism for
“limiting the numbers of special advisers”. The Brown Government’s
response to the Joint Committee on the Draft Constitutional Renewal
Bill argued that numbers of advisers were in practice limited by the
restrictions on Cabinet Ministers in para 3.2 of the Ministerial Code to
36
37
38
39
40
HC 134 2012-13 Q105
Cm 4557 January 2000
Cm 4817 July 2000 Response to Recommendation 21
Committee on Standards in Public Life Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003
Cm 5964 September 2003 Response to Recommendation 22
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 12
appoint up to two special advisers, and that this was the appropriate
means of providing for a limit on the number of special advisers. 41
2.5 Numbers and cost of special advisers 19942014
Since July 2002, the Prime Minister has provided information to the
Commons on an annual basis detailing the names, expertise, pay
range, number and cost of special advisers. 42 Information for earlier
years has been extracted from parliamentary answers and was
summarised by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in its 2003
report. 43
The Committee recommended that the total number of special
advisers should be contained in statute, with an upper limit subject to
alteration by resolution approved by both Houses of Parliament. 44
41
42
43
44
Cm 7690, para 216
HC Deb 10 June 2010 c33-34WS; HC Deb 16 July 2009 c73-76WS; HC Deb 22
July 2008 c100WS; HC Deb 22 November 2007 c147-WS; HC Deb 24 July 2006
c86WS; HC Deb 21 July 2005 c160WS. HC Deb 22 July 2004 c 466W – 470W:
HC Deb 16 July 2003 c328 – 330W; HC Deb 24 July 2002 c1371 – 1373W.
Committee on Standards in Public Life Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003, p50
Committee on Standards in Public Life Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003, p51
13 Special Advisers
Figure 1: Number of special advisers 1995-2015
Total of which:
Session
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Month
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
May
June
July
July
October
November
December
December
No. 10* Departments
34
38
38
70
74
78
79
81
70
72
84
82
68
73
74
**
68
74
81
98
103
92****
83
6
8
8
18
25
26
25
26
27
26
28
25
20
23
25
**
22
25
33
42
46
32
32
28
30
30
52
49
52
54
55
43
46
56
57
48
50
49
**
46***
49
48
56
57
60
51
Notes : * Fi gures for 2010-14 i ncl ude thos e a ppoi nted
by the Pri me Mi ni s ter a nd thos e a ppoi nted to
s erve the Deputy Pri me Mi ni s ter.
** Fi gures a re not a va i l a bl e a s to the exa ct
numbers of a dvi s ers a t the di s s ol uti on of
Pa rl i a ment i n 2010.
*** The 2010 tota l s i ncl ude 5 pos i ti ons l i s ted
a s ‘va ca nt’ when the Wri tten Mi ni s teri a l
Sta tement wa s ma de on 10 June 2010.
****The fi gure of 92 i s the number of s peci a l
a dvi s ers l i s ted i n the ma i n body of the
Ca bi net Offi ce's tra ns pa rency fi gures . In
a ddi ti on, a footnote s ta tes tha t the
Cha ncel l or of the Exchequer a ppoi nted three
peopl e to the Counci l of Economi c Advi s ers .
Thes e peopl e ha ve been exl uded from the
tota l here beca us e they a re not l i s ted a s
depa rtementa l s peci a l a dvi s ers . If they a re
i ncl uded, the number fo s peci a l a dvi s ers i n
pos t a s a t 17 December 2015 woul d be 95.
Numbers of s peci a l a dvi s ers were publ i s hed
more tha n once a yea r between 2010 a nd 2015,
but onl y one fi gure for ea ch yea r i s i ncl uded
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 14
Figure 2: Paybill for special advisers 1994-2015
Paybill period
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
01/04/10 - 12/05/10
13/05/10 - 31/05/11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
01/04/15 - 13/07/16
Notes :
Change in pay
Special Adviser
on previous
Pay (£m)
year (%)
1.5
1.5
1.8
2.6
3.5
4
4.4
5.1
5.4
5.3
5.5
5.9
5.9
5.9
5.9
6.8
2.1*
4.5
6.2
7.2**
8.4**
9.2***
9.2****
0
20
44
35
14
10
16
6
-2
4
7
0
0
0
15
38
16
17
9.5
0
* £1.8m wa s s evera nce
** Incl udes s a l a ry, s evera nce
pa y a nd pens i on contri buti ons
*** Excl udes the cos t of
s evera nce, whi ch wa s £1.9m
(net of repa ya ments for s peci a l
a dvi s ers who were rea ppoi nted i n Ma y 2015)
**** Excl udes the cos t of
s evera nce, whi ch wa s £1.7
mi l l i on.
Numbers i n thi s ta bl e i ncl ude s peci a l a dvi s ers i n No.
10 who a re pa i d s a l a ri es a bove the norma l pa y ba nd.
They a l s o i ncl ude members of the Counci l of
Economi c Advi s ers empl oyed on s peci a l a dvi s er
terms , where i nforma ti on i s gi ven i n the rel eva nt
pa rl i a menta ry a ns wers or wri tten mi ni s teri a l
s ta tements .
15 Special Advisers
3. Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers
The Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct sets out guidance and rules
for the work of special advisers. This is supplemented by the model
contract for special advisers, which sets out principal terms and
conditions of employment and includes a section on conduct and
confidentiality.
Background
A code of conduct for special advisers was first published in July
2001 by the Cabinet Office, following a recommendation from the
(Neill) Committee on Standards in Public Life report in 2000,
Reinforcing Standards, for a code of conduct for special advisers to
be enforced by ‘permanent heads of department’. 45
On 8 April 2003, the Committee on Standards in Public Life published
its Ninth Report, Defining the Boundaries within the Executive:
Ministers, Special Advisers and the permanent Civil Service. 46 The
Committee noted concerns about the status and role of special
advisers and recommended there be a clear statement of what
special advisers could not do and that the Code of Conduct for
Special Advisers should continue to list the types of work a special
adviser may do at the request of the Minister.
The then Government accepted that there would be benefit in
amending the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers to provide a
clarification of the relationships between special advisers and
permanent officials. It provided a draft of the proposed changes in an
Annex. However, it did not accept that individual contracts should
stipulate the type of work to be done by a special adviser, preferring
to rely on the Code as general guidance.
3.1 The 2016 Code
A revised Code of Conduct for Special Advisers was published on 21
December 2016. The Code states that special advisers are employed
to serve “the Prime Minister and the Government as whole, not just
their appointing Minister”. 47 The provision that special advisers serve
the Government as a whole had been included in the 2010 Code to
reflect the realities of a coalition government but has remained part of
the updated Code.
The changes to the 2016 Code and the new model contract for
special advisers are relatively minor, reflecting and incorporating
technical changes to the Ministerial Code.
45
46
47
Cm 4557 January 2000 Recommendation 22
Committee on Standards in Public Life Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003
Cabinet Office, Special advisers: code of conduct, 21 December 2016, para 2
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 16
3.2 The 2015 Code
A revised Code of Conduct for Special Advisers was published on 15
October 2015, following the 2015 General Election. A key change
was a relaxing of the prohibition for special advisers from taking part
in national political activities.
Restrictions on political activities
Changes to the 2015 Code included alterations to the section on
special advisers’ involvement in politics in a private capacity. The
previous Code had prohibited special advisers from taking part in
national political activities, including canvassing on behalf of a
candidate or party. 48 Under the revised Code, special advisers may
undertake work for a political party, provided it does not arise out of
government business and if it is done in their own time or under a
separate contract with the party, while working part-time for the
Government. 49 These changes to paragraph 19 of the Code were
made in response to the recommendations of the Public
Administration Committee in their report, Lessons for Civil Service
impartiality from the Scottish independence referendum. 50
The 2015 Code also allows for special advisers to be publicly
identified as candidates or prospective parliamentary candidates,
provided that they have the approval of the Prime Minister and they
resign as a special adviser at the beginning of the short campaign of
an election. 51 The previous Code had stated a special adviser must
resign before they were identified as a candidate or prospective
candidate. 52 The requirement that special advisers do not undertake
local political activities in support of national politics was also
removed. The new Code permits this, provided they adhere to certain
requirements. 53
The inclusion of the word “instructions” to a paragraph on the role of
special advisers has also attracted some attention. The 2015 Code
states that when working with civil servants, special advisers can
convey to officials Ministers’ views, instructions and priorities,
including on issues of presentation. In doing so, they must take
account of any priorities Ministers have set. 54
The previous code had stated that special advisers could “convey to
officials Ministers’ views and work priorities, including on issues of
presentation”. 55 Bernard Jenkin MP has raised concern about this
change, telling Civil Service World that it alters the expectation of
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, June 2010, para 19
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 16
Public Administration Select Committee, Lessons for Civil Service impartiality
from the Scottish independence referendum, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15, HC
111, 23 March 2015, para 86; Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers, June 2010, para 19
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 18
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, June 2010, para 20
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 20
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 4
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, June 2010, para 7
17 Special Advisers
what special advisers can demand of officials and sets up “a new
potential for conflict”. According to Jenkin,
There will be times when officials cannot carry out Spads'
instructions, because, for example, they are being asked to
communicate in a partisan way or to do something which
conflicts with the civil service code. 56
The 2015 Code also contains a slight change to the provision on the
dissemination of inappropriate material. The 2010 Code had stated
that any special adviser “ever found to be disseminating inappropriate
material will automatically be dismissed by their appointing
Minister”. 57 By contrast, the 2015 Code states that any special
adviser found to be disseminating inappropriate material “will be
subject to a disciplinary process that may include dismissal”. 58
Other changes to the Code includes a requirement that special
advisers work with the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure the “proper
coordination” of announcements, media appearances and
interviews. 59 Paragraph 15, on transparency, also includes the
addition of a requirement that details of special advisers’ meetings
with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior
executives are published on a quarterly basis. 60
The Conservative Government also published a new Model Contract
for Special Advisers in October 2015. 61 Some of the duties of a
special adviser were altered in this, in line with the changes to the
Special Advisers’ Code outlined above. The period of annual leave for
a new special advisers was also reduced from 30 days to 25 days. 62
3.3 The 2010 Code
A revised Code of Conduct for Special Advisers was published in
June 2010 to reflect the requirements in the Constitutional Reform
and Governance Act 2010 which put the civil service and special
advisers on a statutory footing, and to reflect the interests of the new
coalition Government. 63
The Code stated that special advisers are “appointed to serve the
Government as a whole and not just their appointing Minister.” 64 This
new provision ensured that special advisers are serving the interests
of the whole Government, regardless of the party affiliation of their
appointing Minister.
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
‘“A step back to the Alistair Campbell days” – Committee chair Bernard Jenkin
questions fresh guidance for special advisers’, Civil Service World, 22 October
2015
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, June 2010, para 6
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 11
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 12
Cabinet Office, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, October 2015, para 15
Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office model contract for special advisers – October
2015, October 2015
Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office model contract for special advisers – October
2015, October 2015, para 7
Further detail on the development of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers is
available at section 7.1 of this note, and additional detail on the Constitutional
Reform and Governance Act 2010 is available at section 7.3.
Cabinet Office Code of Conduct for Special Advisers June 2010
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 18
Other new provisions in the Code were about the declaration of gifts
and hospitality received whilst in service, as well as enhanced
language on the standards expected of special advisers in relation to
conduct in public life. The Code stated that “the preparation or
dissemination of inappropriate material or personal attacks has no
part to play in the job of being a special adviser as it has no part to
play in the conduct of public life. Any special adviser even found to be
disseminating inappropriate material will automatically be dismissed
by their appointing Minister”. The Chief Press Adviser to Gordon
Brown, Damien McBride, had resigned on 11 April 2009 as a result of
leaked emails suggesting personal attacks on Opposition figures and
the Cabinet Secretary had issued updated guidance to special
advisers which they were required to sign. 65
The revised Code updated the section on ‘Relations with the
Permanent Civil Service’ in order to comply with the Constitutional
Reform and Governance Act 2010’s requirement that special advisers
may not “authorise the expenditure of public funds; exercise any
power in relation to the management of any part of the civil service;
and otherwise exercise any power conferred by or under this or any
other Act or any power under Her Majesty’s prerogative.” 66
The Code of Conduct included a requirement for Special Advisers to
disclose gifts and hospitality received, in line with departmental staff
handbooks. Further to this, David Cameron announced in October
2010 that, for the first time, departments were publishing on their
websites details of gifts and hospitality received by their special
advisers during the period 13 May to 31 July 2010. This information
would also be updated on a quarterly basis.
The Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Government also
published a new Model Contract for Special Advisers in June 2010,
but did not alter the wording of special adviser duties, and maintained
the previous Government’s position that special advisers are to
“provide assistance to the Minister”.
65
66
“Email smears a “serious breach”, BBC News, 15 April 2009, [on 7 October 2009]
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
19 Special Advisers
4. Developments in the role of
special advisers
The role of, and rules applying to, special advisers have developed in
recent years. Key developments since 2001 are set out below,
including changes to the code of conduct for special advisers, special
advisers under the Brown administration, and the enactment of the
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
4.1 The code of conduct for special advisers
A code of conduct for special advisers was first published in July
2001 by the Cabinet Office, following a recommendation from the
(Neill) Committee on Standards in Public Life report in 2000,
Reinforcing Standards, for a code of conduct for special advisers to
be enforced by ‘permanent heads of department’. 67
On 8 April 2003, the Committee on Standards in Public Life published
its Ninth Report, Defining the Boundaries within the Executive:
Ministers, Special Advisers and the permanent Civil Service. 68 The
Committee noted concerns about the status and role of special
advisers and recommended there be a clear statement of what
special advisers could not do and that the Code of Conduct for
Special Advisers should continue to list the types of work a special
adviser may do at the request of the Minister.
The Government accepted that there would be benefit in amending
the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers to provide a clarification of
the relationships between special advisers and permanent officials. It
provided a draft of the proposed changes in an Annex. However, it
did not accept that individual contracts should stipulate the type of
work to be done by a special adviser, preferring to rely on the Code
as general guidance.
The Government committed itself to making revisions to the
Ministerial Code which would make it clear that all Ministers are
personally accountable to the Prime Minister and to Parliament for the
management and discipline of their special advisers and for
investigating alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers. The Government also committed itself to continuing the
process of providing annual statements with data on the number and
role of special and unpaid advisers in Government. Finally, it agreed
to amend the letter of appointment for unpaid advisers so that it
included a requirement not to use official resources for party political
activity or to undermine the political impartiality of civil servants.
The Ninth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life had
noted that the Civil Service Order in Council relating to special
67
68
Cm 4557 January 2000 Recommendation 22
Committee on Standards in Public Life Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 20
advisers of 1995 had referred to their role as one of “giving advice
only”. This was inconsistent with the Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers which listed activities that special advisers could be asked to
do by their Ministers. These activities went far beyond only giving
advice. The Public Administration Select Committee had therefore
recommended the wording “providing assistance” in its report on a
draft Civil Service Bill in 2004. 69
It emerged in July 2005 that the Government had changed the terms
of the Order in Council which governs the role of special advisers and
was drafting a new Code of Conduct and new Model Contract for
special advisers. The then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, announced the
changes in a parliamentary written statement on 21 July 2005. 70 The
Prime Minister stated:
I have today placed in the Libraries of the both Houses copies
of the revised code of conduct for special advisers and the
revised model contract for special advisers. These reflect
commitments given by the Government to the Public
Administration Committee and the Committee on Standards in
Public Life. The civil service Order in Council governing the
appointment of special advisers has also been amended to the
effect that special advisers are appointed to assist Ministers.
The manner of the change upset the Committee of Standards in
Public Life, whose then chair, Sir Alastair Graham, issued two press
releases on 19 and 21 July 2005. 71 He expressed concern that the
change in wording had been made without the introduction of civil
service legislation, contrary to the implications of the PASC report in
2004.
4.2 Special advisers and the Brown
Government
Former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, took office on 27 June 2007.
The afternoon press briefing for that day noted that “In his first act as
Prime Minister he revoked the Orders of Council granting powers to
special advisors to give instructions to civil servants.” 72 This was a
reference to the revocation of the powers given to Tony Blair in 1997
to appoint up to three special advisers with executive powers. The
69
70
71
72
HC 128 2003-4 January 2004. For background see Library Standard Note no
2863 The Civil Service Bill 2003-4
HC Deb 21 July 2005 c162WS Dep 05/1002 (Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers) and Dep 05/1001 (Model Contract for Special Advisers).
“Changes to the law on Special Advisers” Committee on Standards in Public Life
PN 19 July 2005. The relevant Order in Council is the Civil Service (Amendment)
Order in Council 2005 made 22 June 2005 which can be found at
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk; “Revision of the Code of Conduct for Special
Advisers” Committee on Standards in Public Life PN 21 July 2005
No. 10 Downing Street Afternoon Press Briefing for 27 June 2007. The relevant
Order in Council is the Civil Service (Amendment)(No 2) Order in Council 2007,
made on 28 June 2007. This Order did not make amendments to the new power
given to special adviser to assist ministers in the Order in Council amendment
made in 2005 by Mr Blair
21 Special Advisers
draft Civil Service Bill in 2003-04 gives a greater appreciation of the
Blair Government thinking on the role of special advisers. 73
On the same day Mr Brown announced a restructuring of positions
within No. 10 and the Cabinet Office. He brought in a combination of
career civil servants and special advisers to No. 10. He appointed a
career civil servant, Tom Scholar, as Chief of Staff and Principal
Private Secretary, so ending the division of roles under Mr Blair,
whereby Jonathan Powell as special adviser had acted as Chief of
Staff. However, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Gavin Kelly, was a special
adviser. Mr Scholar was subsequently replaced by Jeremy Heywood,
who had initially been appointed as an additional permanent
secretary for domestic policy at the Cabinet Office in June 2007. Mr
Heywood became chief of staff in January 2008, as a civil servant,
not a special adviser. 74
The Prime Minister’s spokesman was a civil servant, Michael Ellam,
but Damien McBride was appointed as a special adviser on political
press issues. Mr McBride had acted as Mr Brown’s special adviser
when Chancellor. Mr Brown’s director of government relations, Sue
Nye, was a special adviser as was the new head of the No. 10 policy
unit, Dan Corry, formerly Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
at the Treasury. A former Treasury special adviser, Spencer
Livermore, was appointed as Director of Political Strategy on special
adviser terms. There was some press comment to the effect that the
new appointments had several links with the Treasury and with the
think-tank IPPR. 75
On 22 November 2007 a written ministerial statement was issued
giving the list of special advisers appointed under the Brown
Government. There had been a reduction in the number of special
advisers in both No. 10 and in the Treasury, since at this point only
one member of the Council of Economic Advisers had been
appointed. 76 At the same time a revised Code of for Special Advisers
and a revised Model Contract was published. 77 There were no major
changes in the revisions and there has been no change in the Order
in Council setting out the role of special advisers. The revision omits
the justification for specialist special advisers in the 2005 version and
promotes their use as ‘an additional resource for the Minister,
providing assistance from a standpoint that is more politically
committed and politically aware than would be available to a Minister
from the permanent civil service’ (para 2). The twelve types of work
suitable for a special adviser remained the same.
73
A Draft Civil Service Bill: A Consultation Document Cm6373 November 2004
“Brown calls up big hitter to restore order” 24 January 2008 Financial Times
75 “Brown to put civil servants back at heart of Government” 7 June 2007 Daily
Telegraph
76 HC Deb 22 November 2007 c147WMS-150W. For CEA, see “Two’s a crowd” 26
October 2007 Financial Times
77 Dep 2007/0134
74
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 22
4.3 The Constitutional Reform and Governance
Act 2010
The Green Paper The Governance of Britain was published in July
2007. 78 It contained commitments to bring forward legislation on the
civil service and to include within this legislation the regulation of
special advisers. There was no commitment in the Green Paper to
limit the role of special advisers to advice and not assistance, and no
commitment to include a limit on the numbers of special advisers in
the proposed civil service legislation.
The Queen’s Speech on 6 November 2007 referred to the proposed
Constitutional Reform Bill as draft, and this was published on 25
March 2008 as a white paper and draft bill, The Governance of
Britain: Constitutional Renewal. 79 The proposals to place the Civil
Service on a statutory footing are discussed in detail in Library
Standard Note 2863, Civil Service Legislation. Pre-legislative scrutiny
of the draft bill was undertaken by both a specially constituted joint
committee of both Houses, 80 and the Public Administration Select
Committee. 81
On 8 April 2010, just before the dissolution of the 2005 Parliament,
the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 received Royal
Assent. In the Commons, the provisions on special advisers were
relatively uncontroversial, and the Act received an expedited passage
in the Lords, so scrutiny was curtailed. The Act includes three
sections relating to special advisers.
Section 15 deals specifically with the roles and responsibilities of
special advisers. This section sets out that special advisers are
appointed directly by a Minister to “assist” that Minister. The language
is consistent with changes that were made in July 2005 to the role of
special advisers from “giving advice only” to “providing assistance to
the Minister”. Appointment must be approved by the relevant Prime
Minister or First Minister. The term of office ends with that of the
Minister or the relevant election day. Section 16 requires the
Government to report annually on the expenditure and numbers of
special advisers. Similar requirements are placed on the Executives
in Scotland and Wales, following Government amendments at
Commons Committee stage. 82
Section 8 outlines the specific requirements for a code of conduct for
special advisers.
These various provisions put into statutory form guidance applicable
to special advisers and the history and development of the guidance
is discussed below. The Act also removed the limits on the numbers
78
79
80
81
82
Cm 7170 Ministry of Justice. For further details see Library Research Paper 07/72
The Governance of Britain Green Paper
Ministry of Justice, The Governance of Britain – Constitutional Renewal, March
2008, Cm7342 – I-III
HL 166-I 2007-08
HC 499 2007-08
See Research Paper 10/18 for full details of the debates and changes made at
Commons Committee stage
23 Special Advisers
of special advisers in the devolved executives of Scotland and Wales
introduced in 1999. However, the legislation did not extend to
Northern Ireland. 83
4.4 Training and induction of special advisers
In a 2013 report the Public Administration Select Committee
considered provision for training and induction of special advisers and
concluded that the Government should ensure that all special
advisers receive induction training within three months of taking up
the role. The report stated that this should cover:
•
•
•
•
•
•
the structure and work of the relevant department;
the scope and meaning of the various Codes of Conduct to
which special advisers are subject;
the implications of their status as temporary civil servants
(including the business appointment rules process, and their
obligations under public records and access to information
legislation);
the nature of their accountability to Ministers (and Ministers'
accountability to Parliament);
the role of permanent secretaries in managing the work and
reputation of the department as a whole; and
where to seek advice and support on propriety issues 84
The Government’s response agreed with the Committee’s
recommendation. 85
In the context of discussions about the training and induction of
special advisers, the Constitution Unit at the UCL published in 2014 a
handbook, Being A Special Adviser, which sought in particular to
provide guidance to new special advisers on what they could expect
of the role and how they could be most effective. The Institute for
Government has also published several papers on the role, and
importance to effective Government, of special advisers. 86
4.5 Unpaid advisers
Although most attention has been focused on the role of special
advisers, the Ministerial Code also makes passing reference to the
appointment of unpaid advisers. The 2005 version of the Code
included more detailed information on unpaid advisers, and using the
2005 guidelines at the time the Committee on Standards in Public Life
concluded that such appointments are exceptional, that prior written
approval of the Prime Minister is required, and that there is no
83
84
85
86
Civil Service (Amendment) Order in Council 1999. Background is given in the
Committee on Standards in Public Life Sixth Report Cm 4557 2000, para 6.13.
Equivalent provision was made for Northern Ireland in the Civil Service
Commissioners (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. This Order was amended in 2003
and on 25 July 2007 to allow two junior ministers in the Officer of the First and the
Deputy First Minister to appoint one adviser each, if so authorised.
HC 134 2012-13 Paras 39-45
HC 515 2013-14
Special advisers and ministerial effectiveness October 2012, In Defence of
Special Advisers – Lessons from personal experience March 2014, The
Unelected Lynchpin: Why Government Needs Special Advisers December 2014
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 24
contractual relationship with the department but a letter of
appointment must be issued by the Minister to the unpaid adviser. 87
Any specific attention to unpaid advisers has been all but left out of
the 2007 and 2010 versions of the Ministerial Code. 88 The current
Code simply ensures that all special advisers (whether paid or
unpaid) are appointed “under the terms and conditions set out in the
Model Contract for Special Advisers and the Code of Conduct for
Special Advisers”. 89 It is unclear whether any special advisers
appointed during the 2010 Parliament were unpaid, as the data
releases only provide details of salary where this is over £65,000.
87
88
89
Committee on Standards in Public Life, Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service, 8 April
2003, p51
For more details, see Standard Note no 3750 The Ministerial Code
Cabinet Office May 2010 Ministerial Code at
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409215/ministerialcodemay2010.pdf
25 Special Advisers
5. Responsibility of ministers for
special advisers
Both the Ministerial Code and Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct
make clear that the management and conduct of special advisers,
including discipline, rests with the Minister who made the
appointment. This was a recommendation of the Committee on
Standards in Public Life in 2003. 90 The 2016 Ministerial Code further
stated: “Individual Ministers will be accountable to the Prime Minister,
Parliament and the public for their actions and decisions in respect of
their special advisers.” 91
The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) held an inquiry
in 2012 which considered the role of special advisers, particularly in
the context of coalition government. Its report Special Advisers: in the
Thick of It was published in October 2012. 92 The report highlighted
ministers’ responsibility for special advisers, and the importance of
permanent secretaries being “guardians of propriety” with regard to
relationships between ministers and special advisers.
The Ministerial Code is clear that ministers are “responsible”,
not simply “accountable”, for their special advisers’
management and conduct. This responsibility is the price of
having a special adviser. Ministers who wish to have special
advisers must therefore exercise this responsibility actively,
ensuring that they are fully aware of what their advisers are
doing in their name. […]
A constructive working relationship between ministers and their
permanent secretaries should ensure that any potential
problems with the performance or activities of special advisers
are resolved at an early stage. We see no reason to impose
further rules, or to change the role of permanent secretaries in
ensuring that departmental business is conducted with propriety
and in accordance with the relevant Codes of Practice and
legislation. Permanent secretaries must be vigilant and
proactive guardians of propriety within their departments, and
must provide advice and support on matters of propriety to
special advisers and ministers, particularly at the start of a new
administration. Permanent secretaries are expected to offer
advice in a timely manner, to avert any suggestion of
impropriety or breach of the Codes of Conduct. In order to do
so, permanent secretaries must ensure that they are fully aware
of what departmental special advisers are doing in the name of
their Minister and the department. 93
The House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report, The
accountability of civil servants, in November 2012 which touched on
the role of special advisers, also concluding that ”ministers are
90
91
92
93
Committee on Standards in Public Life, Defining the Boundaries within the
Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the Permanent Civil Service 8 April
2003
Cabinet Office, Ministerial Code, December 2016, para 3.3
HC 134 2012-13
Summary ibid
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 26
responsible for the actions of their special advisers” and have a duty
to ensure that their advisers abide by the Code of Conduct at all
times. 94
94
HL 61 2012-13
27 Special Advisers
6. Incidents regarding special
advisers, 2010-2015
During the 2010 Parliament there were a number of high profile
incidents regarding special advisers and, in one instance, an
individual who appeared to be representing himself as a ministerial
adviser, although he was not a special adviser.
There was significant interest in the appointment of the former editor
of the News of the World Andy Coulson as an adviser to the Prime
Minister at a salary of £140,000. 95 Mr Coulson subsequently resigned
in January 2011, following allegations about his former role as editor
of the News of the World. 96
In 2011 there was concern about the role of Adam Werrity, a friend of
then Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox, who was found to
have accompanied Dr Fox on a series of visits abroad without any
official authorisation or role as a special adviser. The Cabinet
Secretary conducted an investigation and found that Mr Werritty’s use
of business cards describing him as an adviser to Dr Fox gave the
impression that Mr Werritty spoke on behalf of the UK Government
and/or was associated with Dr Fox in some form of official capacity.
Mr Fox had resigned on 14 October 2011. 97
In June 2012, Adam Smith resigned as special adviser to the Culture
Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, after it was revealed to the Leveson inquiry
that Smith had exchanged 500 emails, text messages and phone
conversations with News International when Mr Hunt was considering
the News Corporation bid for control of BSkyB. The Cabinet Office
later issued a set of principles on the taking of quasi-judicial
decisions. 98
In 2012 the Committee on Standards in Public Life noted that recent
controversies had demonstrated the importance of clarity and
transparency about the role of individuals who advise ministers. 99
In 2014 Fiona Cunningham resigned as special adviser to the Home
Secretary, Theresa May, after it was established that she had been
the source of a negative briefing to The Times regarding Education
Secretary Michael Gove. This incident was part of a wider dispute
between the two Ministers which raised questions about possible
breaches of the Ministerial Code.
In their 2015 report, Lessons for Civil Service impartiality from the
Scottish referendum, the Public Administration Committee concluded
95
96
97
98
99
“David Cameron’s PR director, Andy Coulson, paid £140,000” 10 June BBC
News
“Andy Coulson resigns among phone hacking allegations” 21 January 2011 Daily
Telegraph
“Liam Fox quits as defence secretary” 14 October 2011 BBC News
Principles governing the handling of quasi-judicial decisions by ministers in letter
from Francis Maude to Bernard Jenkin 10 October 2013
Written Evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee CSPL 15 June
2012
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 28
that special advisers working for Conservative ministers had
breached paragraph 19 of the Special Advisers Code of Conduct
during the Rochester and Strood by-election in 2014. 100 In the run up
to the by-election, these special advisers “had been subject to a
general direction to take part in telephone canvassing on behalf of
their party”. 101 The Committee found that when the advisers had
requested instructions or guidance permitting them to comply with this
request, they were told to rely on a letter from the Conservative Party,
which was not their employer. The Committee therefore
recommended
that either: the Special Advisers’ Code and employment
contracts should be amended to reflect what ministers and the
Cabinet Secretary would prefer them to mean in respect of
telephone canvassing, or it should be made clear that Special
Advisers must comply with their Code and contracts of
employment as they are written. 102
The updated Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, published in
October 2015, contained revised provisions reflecting the
Committee’s recommendations.
Discussion of whether Ministers should have been referred to the
Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests regarding a number of
the above incidents is covered in Library Briefing Paper 3750 The
Ministerial Code and the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.
100
101
102
Public Administration Select Committee, Lessons for Civil Service impartiality
from the Scottish independence referendum, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15, HC
111, 23 March 2015, paras 86-87
Public Administration Select Committee, Lessons for Civil Service impartiality
from the Scottish independence referendum, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15, HC
111, 23 March 2015, para 83
Public Administration Select Committee, Lessons for Civil Service impartiality
from the Scottish independence referendum, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15, HC
111, 23 March 2015, para 87
29 Special Advisers
7. Extended Ministerial Office
proposal July 2013
As part of the Civil Service Reform Plan, launched in 2012, the
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Mr Francis
Maude, announced in July 2013 that the idea of a ministerial cabinet
would be developed in the form of an Extended Ministerial Office:
We will enable Ministers in charge of Departments to appoint
personally an extended ministerial office (EMO) including career
civil servants, civil servants recruited externally on fixed-term
appointment (according to Civil Service Commission guidance
and subject to the civil service code), and special advisers.
IPPR concluded in their report which I published last month that
Ministers in Britain received much less direct support than
Ministers in countries with systems similar to ours.
[…]
Fuller details are set out in the “One Year On” report, which I
am placing in the Library. 103
Mr Maude expanded on his ideas in a Policy Exchange speech in
June 2013. 104 The proposal drew on an IPPR report commissioned
for the Cabinet Office. 105 In November 2013 the Times reported that
the proposal had met some resistance from senior Whitehall figures,
but that further details were likely to be announced very shortly. 106 In
response to an oral PQ on 19 November, Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime
Minister, said that the plans were designed to allow ministers access
to external policy advice, rather than to “import an endless series of
political advisers”. 107 Guidance on setting up and running an
extended ministerial office was published by the Cabinet Office on 27
November 2013.
As of 29 June 2015, no Extended Ministerial Offices had been
established. 108 In response to a PQ on 11 September 2015, the
Cabinet Office said that
Extended Ministerial Offices are currently being established in
the Cabinet Office, the Department for Communities and Local
Government, the Department for Education and the Department
for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 109
On 8 December 2015 the Cabinet Office confirmed that an EMO had
been approved for the Scotland Office. 110
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
HC Deb 19 July 2013 c18WS and Civil Service Reform Plan: One Year on
Cabinet Office July 2013
Ministers and Mandarins: Speaking truth unto power Francis Maude 4 June 2013
Policy Exchange
Cabinet Office Accountability and Responsiveness in the Senior Civil Service:
Lessons from Overseas: a report by the IPPR June 2013
“Civil Service clash looms over jobs for cronies” 19 December 2013 Times
HC Deb 19 November 2013 c1066-68
PQ HL916 [on Minister’s Private Offices]
PQ 8466 [on Ministers’ Private Offices]
PQ 18656 [on Ministers’ Private Offices]
Number 03813, 1 February 2016 30
A response to a Parliamentary Question on 12 January 2017
confirmed that the Cabinet Office was in the process of disbanding
Extended Ministerial Offices. 111
See also the Library Note Civil Service Recruitment: Permanent
Secretaries and Extended Ministerial Offices.
111
PQ59058 [Extended Ministerial Offices], 12 January 2017
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