A Cabinet meeting costs £10 per minute - and that's just the politicians, biscuits are extra!
My calculation also reveals that the recent cut in ministers' salaries isn't quite as impressive as it sounded at first. The cost of the Cabinet's politicians has been reduced from £10.44 to £10.09 per minute - a reduction of 3.5%. I expect the cuts imposed on the rest of us will be a little more substantial.
I was inspired to do the calculation by this rather nice diagram in the Guardian:
Here's my working:
| Portfolio | Minister |
New Salary (inc. MP's salary) |
Old Salary (inc. MP's salary) |
|
| Prime Minister | The Rt Hon David Cameron MP | £208,237 | £215,737 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister | The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Foreign Secretary | The Rt Hon William Hague MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | The Rt Hon George Osborne MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice | The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Home Secretary | The Rt Hon Theresa May MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Defence | The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | The Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Health | The Rt Hon Andrew Lansley CBE MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Education | The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Transport | The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | The Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for International Development | The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | The Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | The Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Wales | The Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport | The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | The Rt Hon David Laws MP | £200,302 | £207,384 | |
| Leader of the House of Lords | The Rt Hon The Lord Strathclyde PC | £101,038 | £106,356 | |
| Minister without Portfolio (Minister of State) | The Rt Hon The Baroness Warsi PC | £0 | £0 | |
| Politicians who also attend Cabinet meetings | ||||
| Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General | The Rt Hon Francis Maude MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| Minister of State (Cabinet Office) | The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| Minister of State for Universities and Science | David Willetts MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| Leader of the House of Commons | The Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury & Chief Whip | The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| Attorney General | The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP | £164,477 | £169,674 | |
| difference | ||||
| Total per year: | £5,302,177 | £5,487,817 | 3.50% | |
| Per second: | £0.17 | £0.17 | ||
| Per minute: | £10.09 | £10.44 | ||
| Per hour: | £605 | £626 | ||
| Per day: | £14,527 | £15,035 |