Parliamentary under-secretary of state explained

The parliamentary under-secretary of state (or just parliamentary secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State)[1] is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister of State, which is itself junior to a Secretary of State.[2]

Background

The Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 provides that at any one time there can be no more than 83 paid ministers (not counting the Lord Chancellor, up to 3 law officers, and up to 22 whips). Of these, no more than 50 ministers can be paid the salary of a minister senior to a Parliamentary Secretary. Thus, if 50 senior ministers are appointed, the maximum number of paid Parliamentary Secretaries is 33.[3] [4]

The limit on the number of unpaid Parliamentary Secretaries is given by the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, ensuring that no more than 95 government ministers of any kind can sit in the House of Commons at any one time; there is no upper bound to the number of unpaid ministers sitting in the House of Lords.[5] [6]

The position should not be confused with the Permanent Secretary, which is the most senior civil servant in a government department (also known as the Permanent Under-Secretary of State), nor with a Parliamentary Private Secretary (an MP serving as an assistant to a minister entitled to directly relevant expenses but no further pay).[7]

Of his tenure as an under-secretary in Macmillan's 1957–1963 Conservative government from the Lords, the Duke of Devonshire noted: "No one who hasn't been a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State has any conception of how unimportant a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State is".[8]

Current Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State

The current Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State are:[9]

Historic Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brazier, Rodney. 1997. Clarendon Press. 0-19-825988-3. 13. Rodney Brazier.
  2. Web site: Cabinet Manual . Cabinet Office . Cabinet Office . . Oct 2011 . 12 Jan 2018 . 1st .
  3. Web site: Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975, c.27 . 19 Jan 2018.
  4. Limitations on the number of Ministers . Maer . Lucinda . Kelly . Richard . Briefing Paper . 3378 . House of Commons Library . 10 Aug 2017 . 19 Jan 2018 .
  5. Web site: House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, c.24 . 19 Jan 2018.
  6. Ministers in the House of Lords . Maer . Lucinda . Briefing Paper . 5226 . House of Commons Library . 4 Sep 2017 . 19 Jan 2018 .
  7. Web site: Parliamentary Private Secretaries - Glossary page . UK Parliament website . . 12 Jan 2018.
  8. 10.1093/ref:odnb/93731. Ziegler. Philip. 3 January 2008. 8 January 2015. Cavendish, Andrew Robert Buxton, eleventh duke of Devonshire (1920–2004), landowner.
  9. Web site: Ministers - GOV.UK. 2020-10-24. www.gov.uk. en.
  10. Web site: Minister of State for Europe - GOV.UK. 2020-10-31. www.gov.uk. en.
  11. Web site: Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Implementation) - GOV.UK. 2021-01-24. www.gov.uk. en.
  12. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences) - GOV.UK. 2022-06-30. www.gov.uk. en.
  13. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for vaccines and public health) - GOV.UK. 2022-06-30. www.gov.uk. en.
  14. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care) - GOV.UK. 2022-06-30. www.gov.uk. en.
  15. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Science, Research and Innovation) - GOV.UK. 2020-10-24. www.gov.uk. en.
  16. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Faith and Communities) - GOV.UK. 21 August 2021. www.gov.uk. en.
  17. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism - GOV.UK. 2020-10-23. www.gov.uk. en.
  18. Web site: Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Civil Society) - GOV.UK. 2020-10-23. www.gov.uk. en.

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