Counsel
The PCO is headed by the First Parliamentary Counsel, Stephen Laws CB.
Stephen Laws CB
Stephen is assisted by:
- David Cook, the Second Parliamentary Counsel, and
- Jim Barron CBE, the Chief Executive, whose role is to run the non-drafting side of the PCO and to support the First Parliamentary Counsel on various policy issues.
There are currently 58 Counsel at the PCO, two of whom are at the Law Commission and six at the Tax Law Rewrite Project.
Currently there are:
- 18 Parliamentary Counsel (including the First and Second Parliamentary Counsel)
- 14 Deputy Parliamentary Counsel
- 15 Senior Assistant Parliamentary Counsel
- 11 Assistant Parliamentary Counsel.
- Full List
Teams
Typically a team of two or three Counsel is allocated to a Bill or other project. A team will be led by a senior member of the Office (Parliamentary Counsel or Deputy Parliamentary Counsel). Some Counsel may work on two or more differently constituted teams.
The link below shows project teams for the 2008-09 session. It also shows which Counsel are located at the PCO's main office at 36 Whitehall and which are located at its smaller office at 9 Whitehall.
Allocation of drafting resources
On 9 March 2000, the then President of the Council (the Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett MP) gave a written answer to a Parliamentary Question asked by Mr David Kidney MP concerning the allocation of the PCO's drafting resources.
Support Staff
Counsel at 36 Whitehall are assisted by around 25 support staff, headed up by the Chief Executive, Jim Barron CBE.
