Rishi Sunak faces recruitment crisis as peers shun ministerial jobs

Rishi Sunak faces recruitment crisis in the House of Lords as peers shun ministerial jobs because of lack of pay

• A Tory peer says the Government is ‘really struggling’ to fill roles in the Lords

Rishi Sunak is ‘really struggling’ to recruit Government ministers in the House of Lords because of peers’ unwillingness to take on unpaid jobs.

The Prime Minister is planning a reshuffle of ministerial ranks but his efforts are reportedly being made more complicated by a lack of peers wanting to take on roles.

Under the 1975 Ministerial and Other Salaries Act, there is a maximum of 109 paid ministerial posts.

But Mr Sunak currently has more than 120 ministers in his Government across the House of Commons and House of Lords.

One Conservative peer admitted the PM was facing a problem in trying to replace ministers who wanted to stand down.

This is because peers are expected to give up their outside interests before taking on a ministerial role in the Lords.

Rishi Sunak is ‘really struggling’ to recruit Government ministers in the House of Lords because of peers’ unwillingness to take on unpaid jobs

The Prime Minister is planning a reshuffle of ministerial ranks but his efforts are reportedly being made more complicated by a lack of peers wanting to take on roles

A sign of the PM’s struggles is that Lord Goldsmith, who quit the Government in June, has still not been replaced as a Foreign Office minister in the Lords

‘They are really struggling,’ the Tory peer told The Times. ‘You are asking people to give up their income to take on a very intense job that is effectively unpaid.

‘It is especially hard in departments like the MoD (Ministry of Defence) where you have to spend days out of London. In those cases you can’t even claim the daily allowance.’

Peers are allowed to claim a flat rate attendance allowance of £342 for each sitting day they turn up to the Lords. But they are required to physically ‘clock in’ in order to receive the payment.

A Tory peer told the newspaper it was becoming ‘much harder’ to find suitable candidates for ministerial roles in the Lords.

‘More and more of the paid jobs are being hoovered up by MPs in the Commons, leaving more unpaid roles to fill in the House of Lords,’ they said.

‘You can always find ambitious flunkies who will do it — but it is much harder to find anyone good.’

Another source revealed that one peer turned down the offer of a ministerial role because it would mean having to give up a full-time job they already held.

‘They did the sums and said it wouldn’t even cover the school fees,’ they said.

The problem facing Mr Sunak is also said to have been harder by the approaching general election, meaning peers are unwilling to give up their existing paid jobs for an unpaid ministerial role when the Tories might soon be out of office.

A sign of the PM’s struggles is that Lord Goldsmith, who quit the Government in June, has still not been replaced as a Foreign Office minister in the Lords.

Meanwhile, the PM recently gave peerages to former Conservative Party chief executive Darren Mott and ex-Tory MEP Kay Swinburne before immediately making them Government whips in the Lords.

Source: Read Full Article