The Conservatives are breaking their promises on Special Advisers.

David Cameron said he would put a cap on the number of Special Advisers as part of a pledge to “cut the cost of politics” – but since the 2010 General Election the Government have increased the amount spent on Special Advisers.

• The cost of Special Advisers in     2014-15 was £9.2m which is:

• An increase      of £0.8million on last year - a ten per cent increase;

• An increase      of £3.3m on 2009, the last full year of the last Labour Government - a 56 per cent increase

• There are now 10 Special Advisers in the top pay band (currently PB4: £95,000 to £142,000) compared to six before the last election – a two thirds increase.

 
• There are 26 more SpAds than on 28 October 2010 – a 37 per cent increase.
 
• The Tories have appointed 18 more SpAds since the General Election - a 23 per cent increase (Conservative Ministers employed a total of 79 SpAds before the election). [1]

• In Government the Tories said there would be a limit of two Special Advisers for each Cabinet Minister but the latest available data revealed that eleven Ministers had three or more SpAds: George Osborne, Jeremy Hunt, Baroness Stowell, David Mundell, Patrick McLoughlin, Philip Hammond, Theresa May, Sajid Javid, Iain Duncan     Smith, Nicky Morgan and Michael Gove.

Tom Watson MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, said:

“The Government has released dozens of announcements on the final day of Parliament, shortly before the Christmas break, in a deliberate attempt to avoid proper scrutiny of the information and proposals they contain. It is a shockingly cynical move. But David Cameron can't bury the fact that he’s broken a direct promise he made to reduce the cost of politics and curb the number of Special Advisers in Government.

“Figures released today show he’s spending more on these appointments than when he first entered Number 10. Taxpayers are picking up an ever larger bill for Tory spin doctors. At the same time, the Tories are attacking the opposition and undermining democracy by trying to dramatically reduce the money they get to hold the Government to account. It's one rule for the Tories and another for everyone else.”