Number of ministers must shrink to realise Big Society, say MPs

10 Mar 11
The Big Society will have failed unless the number of ministers is slashed during the Parliament, the Commons public administration select committee said today.
By Mark Smulian

10 March 2011


The Big Society will have failed unless the number of ministers is slashed during the Parliament, the Commons public administration select committee said today.

Currently, ministers and their parliamentary private secretaries make up the so-called 141-strong ‘payroll vote’, who must vote with the government or resign.

But the PASC report said that the executive’s power over the legislature would become even more overbearing unless this number were cut at least in proportion to the reduction in MPs – from 650 to 600 – at the next general election.

Only one parliamentary private secretary per department should be allowed, instead of one for each minister, the report, Smallergovernment: what do ministers do?, said.

It added that the legal cap of 109 salaried ministers should no longer be evaded by the creation of unpaid posts, and numbers should be reduced as more powers are devolved to the local level.

PASC chair Bernard Jenkin said: ‘The number of MPs on the payroll is as high as ever, undermining the independence of Parliament. Things will get worse if the so-called “payroll vote” is not reduced in line with cuts in the size of the Commons.’

The report called for a review of ministerial numbers by 2013, saying: ‘We expect this to identify scope for significant reductions. If this does not happen, we will interpret this as a sign that the government has failed in its ambition to devolve real power and responsibility to local communities as a central tenet of its Big Society agenda.’

Prime Minister David Cameron should resist the temptation to extend his patronage by creating ‘more and more jobs for the boys (and girls)’, it said.

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