asked the Minister for Justice if he will give the following details relative to the appointment of the special legal adviser in his Department (name supplied): (1) date of appointment; (2) the terms of his contract of service, including, specifically, its conditions (a) relating to days and hours to be worked by him, and (b) salary per annum to be paid to him; (3) the number of full days actually worked by him in the Department of Justice since appointment; and (4) if the terms of appointment specify that he shall work on any particular days of the week.
Written Answers . - Legal Adviser Appointment .
177.
: The person concerned is not attached to my Department as a salaried officer. As indicated in reply to a question on 2 March (Official Report, Volume 304, columns 789 and 790, he is paid on a fee basis equivalent to a rate of £9,000 per year. The arrangement is for a period of one year from 15 November 1977. Although he is available to give legal advice his main work for my Department is in the carrying out of legal research. There is no formal agreement about attendance at the Department during specific hours or on particular days of the week. Some of his research work is in fact done in the Bar Library, and at home outside normal working hours, and a provision in the agreement relating the fee to 220 days' service per year is interpreted accordingly. In the circumstances it would be both misleading and inappropriate to attempt to provide details about full days worked by him in the Department. I should perhaps make it clear that he is free to accept private briefs, with certain reservations designed to exclude any clash of interest.