Allister challenges DFP on Pay of Special Advisers
12 August 2011
Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister MLA"Special Advisers are appointed as Civil Servants under the Civil Service Commissioners (NI) Order 1999, as amended. Civil Servants pay is currently frozen as part of the austerity programme. Yet, it seems that in a special concession, limited to Special Advisers, some or all of them, have recently had pay increases approved.
"I am, therefore, calling on DFP to come clean on this issue. Before the summer recess I asked a question which was answered to the effect that no increases had been approved. It now seems this situation may have altered, so I am today challenging DFP to state, without equivocation or dodging, whether in spite of the pay freeze approval has issued for increases for any Special Advisers.
"Absurdly, the public are not allowed by the Stormont regime to know how much their 19 Special Advisers are paid from the public purse (such information is available in GB). Now, will we be told if, despite the Civil Service pay freeze, in fact their secret salaries are to be bloated with even more of our money? If they are civil servants, with all the pension and other benefits which flow, why should they not equally be subject to the same pay freeze conditions? If Special Advisers can have pay increases, why not the ordinary civil servant, most of whom are on modest wages? Why should a Special Adviser on £80,000 pa breach the pay freeze but a civil servant on £21,000 have their pay frozen?
"I trust DFP and OFMDFM will take the opportunity to come clean on this issue."
