MPs: cut minister numbers by up to 'one third'
Updated on 16 March 2010
An influential committee of MPs has called for a big reduction in the number of ministers in government, saying current numbers are "hard to justify".
The Commons Public Administration Committee said the number of ministerial appointments had doubled during the past century.
In 1900, there were just 60 when the government also administered a global empire.
Currently there are 119 ministers, despite the introduction of devolved government for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the privatisation of many parts of government.
The committee said many appointments were based more on political reward rather than the need to fill the position.
It said the number should be cut "possibly by as much as one third."
The report claimed civil servants were left "making work" for some junior ministers, because they had so little work to do.
"Decisions on the number of ministers should be led by practical need, not political reward," the report said.
"There is a growing consensus that the ever increasing number of ministers harms the effectiveness of government."
The number of ministers who can receive official payment is capped at 109.
However the report notes that prime ministers are still creating unpaid ministers, who still require the use of official cars and civil service staff.
It said the increasing numbers had created a government "payroll vote", which also included parliamentary private secretaries and prime ministerial envoys.
The report noted these positions were undermining the principle that the government should not be able to "stack" parliament with its own supporters.
