Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many special advisors there were in each Government Department in each of the last five years; and what the cost of employing those advisors was.

Pursuant to Section 16 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, a report about special advisers, including the number and the cost, is prepared by the Cabinet Office and laid before Parliament on an annual basis. Reports dating back to 2010 are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-cost