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20-724: PPSs are junior to parliamentary under-secretaries of state , a ministerial post salaried by one or more departments. Although not paid other than their salary as an MP, PPSs help the government track backbench opinion in Parliament. They are subject to some restrictions, as outlined in the Ministerial Code of the British government, but are not members of the Government. A PPS can sit on select committees but must avoid "associating themselves with recommendations critical of, or embarrassing to

40-547: A Secretary of State ) 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. 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

60-562: A PPS receives travel and subsistence allowance paid out of government funds, as with formal members of the government. This makes the PPS the only type of unpaid advisor who receives reimbursement in the course of duty. Overseas travel for PPSs must be approved by the Prime Minister and is granted only in exceptional cases. The role of PPS is seen as a starting point for many MPs who aspire to become ministers themselves. According to Philip W. Buck,

80-474: A professor of political science at Stanford University : Nine-tenths of the M.P.s who first won seats in the House of Commons in 1918 or thereafter, and who held some ministerial office in the years from 1918 to 1955, began their progress towards posts in a ministry or a Cabinet by serving as parliamentary secretaries or as junior ministers... Recruitment to the front bench clearly begins with these two offices. After

100-703: Is no upper bound to the number of unpaid ministers sitting in the House of Lords. 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). Of his tenure as an under-secretary in Macmillan's 1957–1963 Conservative government from

120-545: The Monarch exercising royal prerogative on the advice of the government. By convention secretaries of state must be a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords , but the prime minister can advise the monarch to confer a peerage to satisfy this requirement. Most secretaries of state are incorporated as a " corporation sole ". This gives the minister a separate legal personality, allowing continuity in areas such as

140-458: The Second Johnson ministry as of April 2022. While giving the holder a close-up view of the workings of government at the highest levels, relatively few Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister seem to have gone on to serve at the highest level of government themselves, although Sir Alec Douglas-Home served as Prime Minister in 1963–4, while Anthony Barber was Chancellor of

160-669: The Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom . Secretaries of state head most major government departments and make up the majority of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . Legislation in the United Kingdom is often written like this example section of a hypothetical Silly Walks Act 1970 : 1. Grant powers On the appointed day, the Secretary of State shall be empowered to grant money towards

180-508: The Exchequer from 1970 to 1974, Robert Carr , Home Secretary , 1972–4, and Christopher Soames , Peter Shore , and Gavin Williamson , the future Secretary of State for Education , all went on to be senior Cabinet ministers. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State The parliamentary under-secretary of state (or just parliamentary secretary , particularly in departments not led by

200-617: The Government", and must not make statements or ask questions on matters affecting the minister's department. In particular, the PPS in the Department for Communities and Local Government may not participate in planning decisions or in the consideration of planning cases. PPSs are not members of the government, and all efforts are made to avoid these positions being referred to as such. They are instead considered more simply as normal Members. However, their close confidence with ministers does impose obligations on every PPS. The guidelines surrounding

220-497: 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". The current Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State are: Secretary of State (United Kingdom) His Majesty's principal secretaries of state , or secretaries of state , are senior ministers of

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240-518: The development of fatuous ambulations as seen fit. In legislation, the term "Secretary of State", thus capitalised, is interpreted under the Interpretation Act 1978 as referring to any one of the secretaries of state in use; in practice, such secretaries of state are each allocated a portfolio by the prime minister, and only exercise the powers in that portfolio. In this example, a "Secretary of State for Silly Walks" would be appointed to exercise

260-486: The divulging of classified information by ministers to PPSs are rigid. Ministers choose their own PPSs, but they are expected to consult the Chief Whip and must seek the written approval for each candidate from the prime minister . Although not on the government payroll, PPSs are expected to act as part of the payroll vote , voting in line with the government on every division . When on official Departmental business,

280-510: The embryonic offices of foreign secretary and home secretary . Over time, the number of secretaries of states grew, so that there were five in 1900 and 14 by 1996. There are currently 16 secretaries of state. The secretaries of state that have been used for the matters of health, education, work, business, energy, environment, transport and the regions are shown in the graphic below. It shows how portfolios of responsibilities have been broadly passed down from one secretary of state position to

300-587: The eyes and ears, reporting back to your boss all the gossip, what people are saying about your work in the bars and cafes of Westminster. The following is a list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries in the UK, since the swearing in of the Starmer ministry on 5 July 2024. The Leader of the Opposition usually has at least one Parliamentary Private Secretary as well. The following is a list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries under

320-598: The form of the offices of the secretary of state for the Northern Department and the secretary of state for the Southern Department , was made in 1689, though the office had been first divided into the Northern and Southern Department purviews in 1660. In 1782, the responsibilities of these offices were changed, so that one would be responsible for foreign affairs and one for domestic affairs, thus establishing

340-485: The leaking of party details in emails associated with Desmond Swayne , PPS to David Cameron , a writer of the Thirsk and Malton Labour Party Constituency Blog commented: A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a thankless job. Despite having risen to the rank of MP, those with Governmental ambitions will need to pay their dues once more – as a bag carrier. Admittedly, PPS is a bit more than that – you are supposed to be

360-510: The ownership of property between office-holder changes. The origin of the office lies in the office of the king's private secretary . However, by the Tudor period , the office's purview had become more onerous. In 1539 or 1540, Henry VIII appointed two people to the office. After the Stuart Restoration , the practice of appointing two secretaries of state resumed. A formal division, in

380-570: The provisions of the Act, but could theoretically exercise the powers of, for example, the Secretary of State for Scotland at any time. There are exceptions, in that legislation sometimes refers to particular secretaries of state. Under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 , a maximum of 21 secretaries of state can receive a salary. Secretaries of state and other government ministers are appointed by

400-409: 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. 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

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