Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker why it was necessary to extend the staff accommodation in support of the Lord Speaker; how many extra staff are involved; and what are their duties.

In January 2021 the Commission published the report of the independent External Management Review. One of the specific recommendations of that Review was that a small secretariat should be appointed to provide dedicated support to the Commission. In response to this recommendation, at its meeting on 10 February 2021, the Commission agreed that new secretariat posts should be created as soon as possible.

Accordingly, two new post-holders have now been recruited to provide support for the whole Commission. These two postholders are not part of the Lord Speaker’s Office but, as the Lord Speaker is Chair of the Commission, they are now physically co-located with the Lord Speaker’s Office in order to enable effective communication and information sharing. The Secretary to the Commission ensures that the Commission receives the information and support they need to take effective strategic decisions and meet their objectives. This includes, but is not limited to, briefing the Chair, liaising between Commission members and senior staff, drafting papers, following up issues after meetings, assisting with Commission communications, overseeing the arrangements for meetings and line managing the Executive Officer to the Commission. The Executive Officer to the Commission provides the administrative support to the Commission. This includes, but is not limited to, organising the administrative arrangements for meetings, circulating papers, maintaining internet and intranet pages, managing Commission records, helping with Commission communications, and liaising with staff involved with Commission meetings.

The staff count for the Lord Speaker’s Office is 4.8 full-time equivalent posts: a Private Secretary, Assistant Private Secretary, Diary Manager, Events and Outreach Officer, and an Executive Officer. Due to vacancies not all of these posts are currently filled. An internal staffing review of the Office is currently taking place.

Other staff are also co-located with the Lord Speaker’s Office, including a member of the Communications team who provides communications support to the Lord Speaker and Commission, and a member of staff who forms the International Relations team. They are not part of the Lord Speaker’s Office.

In the last three financial years, the actual staffing costs for the Lord Speaker’s Office were:

2018-19: £200,654

2019-20: £182,904

2020-21: £205,692

The forecast outturn for staffing for the Lord Speaker’s Private Office for the current financial year (2021-22) is £227,262, prior to any agreed pay award.

The draft budget for 2022-23 is £310,430. This larger figure assumes a full complement in every post for the full financial year, which has not always been the case in preceding financial years. These figures include the costs of salaries as well as other on-costs such as pension and National Insurance contributions.

These figures do not include the costs of the two members of staff who support the Commission. As outlined above, these posts are not part of the Lord Speaker’s Office, although they are co-located with the staff of the office.