Transparency data

Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, July 2022 (HTML)

Published 15 July 2022

Special Advisers

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.

Special advisers should be fully integrated into the functioning of government. They are part of the team working closely alongside civil servants to deliver Ministers鈥 priorities. They can help Ministers on matters where the work of government and the work of the government party overlap and where it would be inappropriate for permanent civil servants to become involved. They are appointed to serve the Prime Minister and the Government as a whole, not just their appointing Minister.

In accordance with section 16 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the Cabinet O铿僣e publishes an annual report containing the number and costs of special advisers. This information is presented below and can be read alongside the Cabinet O铿僣e Annual Report and Accounts 2021-2022, which shall be published in due course.

The Cabinet O铿僣e also routinely publishes the names of all special advisers along with information on salaries. In accordance with the Information Commissioner鈥檚 O铿僣e guidance on publishing personal data, the salaries of those special advisers earning equivalent to senior civil servants (拢70,000 or more) are given in bands of 拢5,000.

Special adviser pay bands are also published.

Number of Special Advisers

As at 31 March 2022, there were 126 (124.7 full-time equivalent) special advisers working across the whole of Government. The total Civil Service had 511,100 (479,040 full-time equivalent) civil servants as at March 20221.[footnote 1]

Cost of Special Advisers

The special adviser pay bill for the 铿乶ancial year 1 April 2021-31 March 2022 was 拢12.7 million. This includes 拢99,000 paid in severance payments to special advisers in this period. Special advisers represent 0.03 per cent of the Civil Service workforce (full time equivalent)[footnote 2].

A special adviser鈥檚 appointment automatically ends when their appointing Minister ceases to hold the ministerial o铿僣e in relation to which the adviser was appointed to assist, or if earlier, immediately following a parliamentary general election. In accordance with clause 14 of the

Model Contract for Special Advisers, a special adviser is entitled to receive a severance payment in these circumstances. Special advisers who are subsequently reappointed repay their severance as laid out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

In line with the public sector, special advisers did not receive a cost of living increase as pay was subject to a one-year freeze in 2020-21. Any changes to individual special advisers鈥 pay re铿俥cted a change in role or responsibility.

The relative change in the costs of special advisers compared to 2020-21 re铿俥cts the Cabinet Reshu铿別s which took place in September 2021 and February 2022, increasing the overall pay bill and severance costs from 2020-21.



1 April 2021 鈥 31 March

2022

1 April 2020 鈥 31 March

2021

Salary Costs

拢9.0尘

拢8.6尘

National Insurance

Contributions

拢1.1尘

拢1.0尘

Pension Contributions

拢2.5尘

拢2.3尘

Severance Costs

拢0.099尘

拢0.024尘

Total Pay Costs

拢12.7尘

拢11.9尘

Short 伊人直播

In 2021-2022, opposition parties have been allocated 拢9.2 million of Short 伊人直播[footnote 3] and 拢1.1 million of Cranborne 伊人直播[footnote 4], and up to 拢2 million was available to eligible parties in Policy Development Grant, of which 拢1.55m was allocated to seven parties in opposition[footnote 5]. Returns on Short 伊人直播 spending on political sta铿 are published on parliament.uk[footnote 6].

Special Adviser Pay Policy

The Cabinet O铿僣e is responsible for Special Adviser Pay Policy. There are four pay bands for special advisers as set out below.

PB1 Junior Special Adviser - 拢40,500 - 拢53,000 PB2 Special Adviser - 拢57,000 - 拢84,000

PB3 Senior Special Adviser - 拢73,000 - 拢102,000

PB4 Special Adviser Leadership - 拢102,000 - 拢145,000

Each role is individually assessed and assigned a band according to the level and scope of responsibility required. Whilst the default is for new appointees to be paid salaries at the base of the pay band, a higher starting salary within the relevant band may be awarded to re铿俥ct the skill-set and expertise that an individual brings to the role.

Thorough benchmarking exercises are regularly carried out across the cohort to ensure the pay policy is being applied fairly and consistently.

Special Advisers鈥 Declarations of Interest

As with all civil servants, special advisers ensure that no con铿俰ct arises, or could be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, 铿乶ancial or otherwise.

Special advisers declare interests to their Permanent Secretary in the appointing department for consideration, in line with the Declaration of Interests policy. The personal information which special advisers disclose to the Permanent Secretary is treated in con铿乨ence. All special advisers have submitted a completed declaration of interests form, including nil returns in instances where there was no actual, potential or perceived con铿俰ct of interest.

Where relevant to the role, and to help manage a perception of con铿俰ct or to explain how a con铿俰ct is being managed, interests will be published on an annual basis in, or alongside, the relevant departmental Annual Report and Accounts. This provides a balance between transparency and privacy.

The declared interests of all those employed in the period 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022 have been considered for publication, including those who have since left their Department.

List of Special Advisers

This list re铿俥cts the special advisers in post as of 30 June 2022, working across the whole of government.

Appointing Minister

The Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Union and Minister for the Civil Service - The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Samantha Cohen

4

拢140,000-拢144,999

Simone Finn

4

拢125,000-拢129,999

Ben Gascoigne

4

拢125,000-拢129,999

Guto Harri

4

拢140,000-拢144,999

Alex Hickman

4

拢110,000-拢114,999

Jack Airey

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Rosie Bate-Williams

3

拢90,000-拢94,999

John Bew

3

拢95,000-拢99,999

Leonora Campbell

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Rory Geoghegan

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Andrew Gilligan

3

拢95,000-拢99,999

Logan Graham

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Rory Gribbell

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Katharine Howell

3

拢85,000-拢89,999

Stephanie Lis

3

拢75,000-拢79,999

Mark McInnes

3

拢100,000-拢104,999

Caroline Newton

3

拢90,000-拢94,999

Andrew Parsons[footnote 7]

3

拢100,000-拢104,999

James Phillips

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Jonny Piper

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Meg Powell-Chandler

3

拢100,000-拢104,999

Jennifer Powers

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Jean-Andre Prager

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Chloe Sarfaty[footnote 8]

3

拢75,000-拢79,999

Rajiv Shah

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Myles Stacey

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Will Warr

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Sheridan Westlake

3

拢95,000-拢99,999

Shelley

Williams-Walker

3

拢90,000-拢94,999

Joel Winton

3

拢90,000-拢94,999

Hugh Bennett[footnote 9]

2


Danielle Dove

2


Daniel El-Gamry

2


Christopher James

2


Skandar Keynes

2


Emily Maister

2


Charlotte Owen[footnote 10]

2


Sophia True

2


Chloe Westley

2


Sonia Zvedeniuk

2


Alex King

1


Oscar Reddrop

1


Catherine Rostron

1

Appointing Minister

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice 鈥 The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Beth Armstrong

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Sally Rushton

2


Beatrice Timpson

2


Jack Worlidge

1

Appointing Minister

Chancellor of the Exchequer 鈥揟he Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Liam Booth-Smith

4

拢115,000-拢119,999

Douglas McNeill

3

拢95,000-拢99,999

Eleanor Shawcross

3

拢95,000-拢99,999

Nerissa Chester铿乪ld

2


Cass Horowitz

2


James Nation

2


Rupert Yorke

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Lisa Lovering

1

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development A铿airs, First Secretary of State 鈥 The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Adam Jones

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Hugh Bennett

2


Jamie Hope

2


Sophie Jarvis

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Chris Jenkins[footnote 11]

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Sarah Ludlow

2


Reuben Solomon

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for the Home Department 鈥 The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Hannah Guerin

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Christopher Howarth

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Harry Methley

2


Michael Stott

2


Hebe Trotter

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Defence 鈥 The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Peter Quentin

2

拢80,000-拢84,999

Edwina Thomas

2


Daisy Peck

1

Appointing Minister

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chief of Sta铿 鈥 The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

David Canzini

4

拢140,000-拢144,999

Simon Burton

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Emma Dean

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Amy Milner

3

拢70,000-拢74,999

Allan Nixon

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 鈥 The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Josh Grimstone

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

Andrew Hood

3

拢100,000-拢104,999

Henry Newman

3

拢100,000-拢104,999

Keelan Carr

2

拢75,000-拢79,999

Charles Rowley

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 鈥 The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Peter Backhouse

2


Sam Coates

2

拢80,000-拢84,999

James Hedgeland

2


Adam Memon

2


Damon Poole

2


Alice Hopkin

1

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 鈥 The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Cameron Brown

2


Celia McSwaine

2


Marcus Natale

2

Appointing Minister

COP26 President, Minister of State 鈥 The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Jessica Prestidge

2


Eamonn Ives

1

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade 鈥 The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)



Will Holloway



2



拢70,000-拢74,999



Rhiannon Padley



2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 鈥 The Rt Hon Th茅r猫se Co铿ey MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Caroline Elsom

2


Tim Sculthorpe

2


Ed Win铿乪ld

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Education 鈥 The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Thomas Kennedy

2


Mark Lehain

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

James Price

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural A铿airs 鈥 The Rt Hon George Eustice MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Richard Coates

2


Emma Pryor

2


Megan Trethewey

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Transport 鈥 The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

James Harries

2


Ryan Hopkins

2


Neil Tweedie

2

拢75,000-拢79,999

Jessica Webb

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 鈥 The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Isabel Bruce

2


Oliver Legard

2


Johnny Aslet

1


David Sforza

1

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Scotland - The Rt Hon Alister Jack MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

John Cooper

2


Magnus Gardham

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Geo铿 Mawdsley

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Tom Peterkin

2

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Wales 鈥 The Rt Hon Simon Hart MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Jack Sellers

2


Olivia Williams

1

Appointing Minister

Leader of the House of Lords, Lord Privy Seal 鈥 The Rt Hon Baroness Evans of Bowes Park


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Annabelle Eyre

3

拢80,000-拢84,999

James Antell

1


Hannah Ellis

1

Appointing Minister

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 鈥 The Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Robert Oxley

3

拢85,000-拢89,999

William Joce

2


Steph Schwarz

2

Appointing Minister

Minister of State - The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Radomir Tylecote

2


Fred De Fossard

1

Appointing Minister

Minister for the Cabinet O铿僣e - The Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)



Corey Edwards



2

Appointing Minister

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) 鈥 The Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Charlotte Owen

2


Harriet Smith

2


Louis Flood

1


Aoife Forbes

1

Appointing Minister

Chief Secretary to the Treasury 鈥 The Rt Hon Simon Clarke MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)



Olivia Oates



2



拢70,000-拢74,999

Appointing Minister

Lord President of the Council, Leader of the House of Commons 鈥 The Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Sophie Bolsover

2




Tom Irven



2

Appointing Minister

Attorney General 鈥 The Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Chris Jenkins

2

拢70,000-拢74,999

Emily Law

1


David Scullion

1

Appointing Minister

Minister of State for Crime and Policing for the Home O铿僣e 鈥 The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)

Robyn Staveley

2

Appointing Minister

Minister of State for Higher and Further Education for the Department for Education 鈥 The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP


Special Adviser

Pay Band

Salary Band

(if 拢70,000 or above)





Iain Mans铿乪ld





2





拢75,000-拢79,999
  1. Information taken from , O铿僣e for National Statistics.听

  2. Based on information taken from , O铿僣e for National Statistics.听

  3. Works part time - the salary band shown represents the full time equivalent, the actual salary is prorated.听

  4. Works part time - the salary band shown represents the full time equivalent, the actual salary is prorated.听

  5. Works 50% time for the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP and 50% time for the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development A铿airs, the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP and so therefore appears in this list under both Ministers.听

  6. Works 50% time for the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP and 50% time for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip), the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP and so therefore appears in this list under both Ministers.听

  7. Works 50% time for the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development A铿airs, the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP and 50% time for the Attorney General, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP and so therefore appears in this list under both Ministers.听