I applaud the decision of the government to publish a complete list of the names, salaries and job titles of everyone in the Senior Civil Service who earns more than £150,000. You can save the list by clicking here. There was a time when Conservative politicians would have called this an exercise in the politics of envy; I’m pleased they’ve moved on from that. I think this will inject a much-needed element of accountability into public service.
The most surprising revelation concerning lawyers is that no fewer than twelve members of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel feature on the list, led by Stephen Laws at number 21, who is apparently paid £225,000. Parliamentary Counsel are the lawyers who actually draft Parliamentary Bills and the amendments to them. The total of twelve amounts to more individuals (on a quick count) than in any other department bar Defence. In an office of only about 60 staff, that’s pretty impressive or unimpressive, depending on how you look at it.
I should reveal an interest: I was once turned down for a job at Parliamentary Counsel, I think in 2000. Before long, I was happy I’d ended up doing other things instead (though I’m not so sure now, looking at these numbers). But think me a bitter wanned-to-be, if you like. I was also happy to drink their or the taxpayer’s Pimms when I was invited to the office’s garden party one year.
The job of a Parliamentary draftsman is a difficult and specialised one, but I’m afraid I don’t think these salaries can be justified – and certainly not the very highest ones. I note in passing that of the twelve, only four are women. In my not vast but real experience of working with Parliamentary Counsel, I found some of them very impressive, and good at working with lawyers like me who were advising ministers. The people I have in mind may recognise themselves if they ever read this. I think the office does a good job generally for Parliament and for the public, and that much criticism of its legislative drafting, mainly focusing on the claim that it should be in plainer English, is misguided. Many people in the office work very hard, no doubt. What I’m less sure about is that they work harder than many other government or local government lawyers, or that the highest paid of them are necessarily among the hardest workers.
The other legal listees are David Green, Director of Revenue and Customs prosecutions at the CPS, (number 46) who is paid £210,00, more than the DPP himself, Keir Starmer (number 45) who’s on £195,000. Those both seem to me unjustifiable salaries. The Treasury Solicitor Paul Jenkins (number 167) is paid £155,000 – his certainly should be the highest salary of any government lawyer – and Bruce Houlder, Director of Service Prosecutions in charge of courts martial (number 127) is on £150,000.
Finally, no less than seven Ministry of Justice officials are paid more than £160,000. They’re numbers 134 to 140, led by the Permanent Secretary Suma Chakrabarti at number 134, who’s on £180,000. Many lawyers will want to know which of them is responsible for delivering legal aid savings.
I’d like to see the end of the culture of excess at the self-rewarding top, not just in the public sector but everywhere. To that end, I hope this kind of transparency goes much, much further.
With the greatest respect, I don’t think a quarter of a million PA is outrageous for the top legal jobs in the country. I am surprised these salaries are so modest.
A fair point, Ben. But demanding and specialised as Parliamentary drafting is, I don’t think you can really argue that Parliamentary Counsel occupy 12 of the 17 “top legal jobs” in the public sector. In the government legal service alone, I’d identify the legal secretary to the law officers, the heads of the European Division and “COCAD” divisions of Cabinet Office legal advisers and the legal advisers to every government department as having “topper” jobs than all of them with the possible exception of First Parliamentary Counsel. That’s about 20 other people I’ve mentioned. This table shows they’re paid disproportionately as compared with other government lawyers.
Perhaps another reason I’m shocked by these salaries is that I know many of the lawyers doing the bulk of the important work in government – and on whose work these bosses rely – earn so much less. Even I think in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
So if you’re arguing for better pay for public sector lawyers generally, I’d agree with you. It’s not possible for the foreseeable future I suppose because of the deficit, but government lawyers in the middle and lower ranks – the legal officers, grade 7s and grade 6s – certainly are paid modestly, and the government’s lucky to have a lot of them.