Want to keep up to date on Welsh politics? Sign up and get political news sent straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Almost a quarter of Assembly Members – including two party leaders and a minister – are employing members of their immediate families to work for them with the taxpayer footing the bill.

In total 12 AMs employ either their husbands, wives, sons, daughters or spouses.

The roles filled by family members range from researchers to office managers and personal assistants.

Ukip group leader Neil Hamilton employs his celebrity wife Christine to work for him 37 hours a week as a personal assistant while Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies has employed his wife Julia in a similar role since 2007.

Labour minister for social services and public health Rebecca Evans employs both her husband Paul and her sister Claire in her office.

She is not the only the only AM who employes two members of her family in their office,

Tory Mohammad Asghar has hired both his wife and daughter to work alongside him.

A spokesman for Ukip leader Mr Hamilton said his wife “has 26 years experience working in a similar capacity at the House of Commons for Members of Parliament, including nearly 15 years working for Neil Hamilton”.

They also confirmed the former I’m A Celeb star was on the lowest section of the salary scale, earning between £18,236 and £24,593 a year.

AMs from four political parties employ family members – five Conservative AMs, three Ukip members, and four Labour politicians.

No Plaid assembly members have hired family members to work for them – the party changed their rules to forbid the practice in 2016.

We asked all of the AMs who employ family members what recruitment procedures were followed and if the job had been advertised openly online.

They were also asked to reveal how much public money was being spent hiring a family member.

Two AMs – Ukip’s Mark Reckless and David J Rowlands – did not respond.

South Wales East AM Mr Ashgar and his fellow Conservative AM Mark Isherwood refused to answer any questions.

They both said that they would only provide more information if it was requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

A spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives said: “All our Assembly Members’ declarations of interest are publicly available via the Register of Members’ Interests which can be viewed at the National Assembly for Wales’ website.”

A Labour spokesman responded on behalf of the party’s four AMs – Joyce Watson, David Rees, Ms Evans and John Griffiths – who employ relatives.

The spokesman said: “The Assembly commission and the remuneration panel have independently established clear rules on the employment of family members and AMs that do so publicly declare this on their register of interest.”

While the precise amount paid to family members of AMs is not known a conservative estimate would put the cost at hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

poll loading Should AMs be allowed to employ family members? 0+ VOTES SO FAR YES NO

But the cost to the public purse is impossible to calculate without clarification of the exact roles family members perform for an AM.

Someone working full time for an AM can earn anywhere from £18,236 to £38,762 a year.

AMs are allowed to appoint staff on a temporary basis for a six-month period after being elected without having to put in place a formal recruitment procedure.

After that Assembly rules make it clear that an AM should play no role in appointing a family member to their staff and they must instead hand the process over to Assembly officials.

TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell said: “Taxpayers want to see the best people getting these jobs. It may well be the case that the most suitable candidates happen to be related to the Assembly members but it’s absolutely crucial that the recruitment process is transparent so that the legitimacy of these appointments cannot be doubted.”

In a statement the National Assembly for Wales Commission, which oversees appointments, said: “The principles of fair and open competition based on merit apply to all posts advertised for assembly member support staff.

“The appointment of the employing assembly member’s family members is only permissible where the member plays no part in the assessment and interviews, which are instead conducted by the members’ business support team.”

In 2009 an independent report recommended the appointment of family members by Assembly Members should be stopped.

The Scottish Parliament phased out the practice of members hiring relatives after a similar report in 2009.

Members of the European Parliament are also banned from hiring people they are related to.

But in Westminster MPs are allowed to hire whoever they want to work in their office.

Last May a report by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority found the cost to the public of MPs hiring family members was £4.7m a year.

The same report found family members employed by MPs were paid on average £5,600 more than the average member of staff.

The full list of AMs who employ family members

Neil Hamilton, Ukip group leader

Who: Wife Mary Christine Hamilton

Job: Personal assistant – 37 hours a week

Since: May 2016

Mark Isherwood, Welsh Conservatives

Who: Wife Hilary Teresa Isherwood

Job: Constituency caseworker, five hours a week

Since: May 2003

Mark Reckless, Ukip

Who: Wife Elizabeth Alison Reckless

Job: Senior adviser, 37 hours a week

Since: July 2016

Joyce Watson, Labour

Who: Daughter Fiona Elizabeth Openshaw

Job: Researcher, 14 hours a week

Since: February 2015

David Rees, Labour

Who: Daughter Angharad Nia Thomas

Job: Researcher and Communications Officer, 22 hours a week

Since: February 2013

Darren Millar, Welsh Conservatives

Who: Wife Rebekah Millar

Job: Administrator and Caseworker, 22 hours a week

Since: November 2007

David J Rowlands, Ukip

Who: Wife, Keryn Rowlands

Job: Head of Office, 37 hours a week

Since: May 2016

Rebecca Evans, Labour minister for social services and public health

Who: Husband Paul Michael Evans

Job: Head of office, 37 hours a week

Since: August 2013

Who: Sister Claire Elizabeth Stowell

Job: Office assistant, 18.5 hours a week

Since: May 2011

John Griffiths, Labour

Who: Wife Alison Kim Griffiths

Job: Administrator, 37 hours a week

Since: May 2003

Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservatives group leader

Who: Wife Julia Davies

Job: Personal assistant, 37 hours a week

Since: May 2007

Angela Burns, Welsh Conservatives

Who: Husband Andrew Stuart Burns

Job: Researcher and caseworker, 18 hours a week

Since: August 2007

(Image: Steve Pope)

Mohammad Asghar, Welsh Conservatives

Who: Wife Firdaus Asghar

Job: Caseworker, 22 hours a week

Since: April 2015

Who: Daughter Natasha Asghar

Job: Office manager, 22 hours a week

Since: March 2016