Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to the salaries of Ministers and Opposition Leaders and Chief Whips and to other matters connected therewith. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1975 c. 27 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 May 1975 |
| Commencement | 8 May 1975[b] |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | |
| Amended by | |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 (c. 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that governs the salaries of ministerial and certain other political offices in the UK.
In 2003, a joint public bill committee deemed the Act one of "the fundamental parts of constitutional law..."[1]
Salaries
The Act also sets out the salaries of government ministers, opposition leaders, opposition whips and the speakers of the two houses of Parliament, as set out below:[2][Note 1]
Government ministers
There can be up to 100 paid posts across the following ministerial offices.[3]
| Salary | Office | |
|---|---|---|
| MP | Not MP | |
| £76,762 | Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury | |
| £68,827 | Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| £68,827 | £101,038 | Secretary of State[Note 2] |
| Cabinet members who hold the offices of: | ||
| £33,002 | £78,891 | Non-Cabinet members[Note 3] who hold the offices of:
|
| Ministers in charge of government departments who are not a member of the Cabinet and who are not eligible for a salary under any other part of the Act | ||
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | ||
| £23,697 | £68,710 | Parliamentary Secretary[Note 2][Note 4] (other than Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) |
| £19,239 | Junior Lord of the Treasury[Note 2] | |
| Assistant Government Whip, House of Commons[Note 2] | ||
| £63,537 | Lord- or Baroness-in-waiting[Note 2] | |
There can also be paid posts in each of the following 9 ministerial offices.[3]
| Salary | Office | |
|---|---|---|
| MP | Not MP | |
| £68,827 | £101,038 | Lord Chancellor |
| £95,772 | £105,699 | Attorney General for England and Wales |
| £59,248 | £91,755 | Solicitor General for England and Wales |
| Advocate General for Scotland | ||
| £33,002 | Treasurer of HM Household | |
| £19,239 | Comptroller of HM Household | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of HM Household | ||
| £78,891 | Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms | |
| £68,710 | Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard | |
Opposition leaders and whips
There can be up to 6 paid posts across the following opposition offices.
| Salary | Office | |
|---|---|---|
| MP | Not MP | |
| £63,098 | Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons | |
| £68,710 | Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords | |
| £33,002 | Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons | |
| £63,537 | Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords | |
| £19,239 | Assistant Opposition Whip, House of Commons[Note 2] | |
Speakers in the House of Commons and the House of Lords
There can be 1 paid speaker in each House.
| Salary | Office | |
|---|---|---|
| MP | Not MP | |
| £75,776 | Speaker of the House of Commons | |
| £101,038 | Lord Speaker | |
Limits
The Act explicitly imposes the following numerical limits on the number of ministerial salaries paid.[4] The effect of this Act is that the maximum number of paid ministerial posts is 109. [3]
| Offices | Limit |
|---|---|
|
21 |
|
50 |
|
83 |
|
5 |
|
7 |
|
5 |
The Act also explicitly imposes the following numerical limit on the number of opposition salaries paid.[4]
| Office | Limit |
|---|---|
|
2 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Section 5(1).
- ^ The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.
- ^ Some salaries set out in the Act are different depending on whether the office holder is an MP or not. Office holders who are MPs also receive a salary by virtue of that role.
- ^ a b c d e f g Office explicitly capable of having multiple concurrent salaried holders.
- ^ Non-Cabinet members includes any minister designated as attending Cabinet.
- ^ Office typically named Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in departments led by a Secretary of State. The equivalent offices in HM Treasury are typically Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Commercial Secretary to the Treasury.
References
- ^ Joint Committee on the Draft Civil Contingencies Bill (28 November 2003). "Draft Civil Contingencies Bill" (PDF). Parliament. pp. 48–9. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, ss 1(2), 1(3), 1(3A), sch 1 and sch 2.
- ^ a b c "Limitations on the number of Ministers" (PDF). Parliament.UK. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ^ a b Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, sch 1 s 2.
