What process was followed to appoint the First Minister's principal special adviser.

Provision for the appointment of special advisers is made in article 3 (4) of the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 as amended by the Civil Service (Amendment) Order in Council 1999. These provisions give the First Minister delegated authority from the Prime Minister to appoint up to 12 special advisers without further recourse to him. Nine special advisers are currently in post. They were selected by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister respectively, without advertisement.Special advisers are temporary civil servants. They are appointed to advise Ministers within the terms of the Model Contract for Special Advisers, which includes a special adviser code of conduct. The Model Contract, which sets out the sorts of work a special adviser may do as well as arrangements for pension and explanation of duration of contract, is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 22440). Special adviser's salaries are not revealed in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned. However, the special advisers' salary ranges for 2002-03 are shown in the following table:Pay Bands | Range From 1 April 2002
1 | £34,850 to £45,100
2 | £45,101 to £57,400
3 | £57,401 to £73,800
3 (premium) | £73,801 to £89,175
4 | £76,876 to £92,250
There are currently two special advisers in Pay Band 1, five in Pay Band 2 and two in Pay Band 3.