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There are 17 Assembly Members and seven Welsh MPs who currently employ members of their own families at the public's expense.

The roles range from case work for five hours a week to senior advisory roles with salaries of up to £40,000 a year.

Using AMs and MPs registers of interests, WalesOnline has compiled a list of those who employs a family member or a family member of another Assembly Member or MP.

The rules are now changing so that no new family members can be employed by AMs. However more than two dozen elected officials already employ family members including sons, daughters, wives, husbands, siblings and uncles.

The figures amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds a year with some being employed since 2003.

Click on the graph below for a break down of all the AMs and MPs by political party.

Assembly Members who employ family members

Two AMs employ two members of their own family and one employs two members of another AM's family.

Unlike MPs, the Welsh Assembly does not publish the pay of AMs' family members. WalesOnline approached all of the AMs employing family members and asked if they would tell us how much they were choosing to pay them. Every single one declined.

Mohammad Asghar AM - South Wales East, Conservative

Mr Asghar has employed his wife Firdaus as a caseworker on 22.2 hours a week since April 2013 and his daughter Natasha as senior communications officer for 10 hours a week

Mr Asghar apparently feels passionately about this issue. Originally a Plaid AM he defected to the Conservatives in 2009 admitting at the time that he did so because he was told he could not employ his daughter as a press officer. He became the first AM to switch parties since the Assembly was set up.

Dawn Bowden AM - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Labour

Ms Bowden has employed her husband Martin Eaglestone as a senior advisor on 37 hours a week since September 2017.

Angela Burns AM - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Conservative

(Image: Western Mail)

Mrs Burns has employed her husband Andrew Burns as a researcher and caseworker for 18.5 hours a week since August 2007.

Andrew RT Davies AM - South Wales Central, Conservative

(Image: Matthew Horwood)

Mr Davies has employed his wife Julia Davies as a PA/Researcher on 37.5 hours a week since June 2007.

Rebecca Evans AM - Gower, Labour

(Image: WalesOnline)

Mrs Evans has employed her husband Paul Evans as the "head of office" on 37.5 hours a week since August 2013. She has also employed her sister Claire Stowell as a press and research officer on 18.5 hours a week since May 2011.

What parties do the AMs come from? Eight of the Conservatives 12 AMs employ family members

Eight of the AMs came from Labour which is 27.59% of Labour's 29 AMs

Two out of the three UKIP AMs employed members of their own families

Plaid have a policy of not employing family members

The one Lib Dem AM does not hire a family member

Janet Finch-Saunders AM - Aberconwy, Conservatives

She has employed her husband as an office manager for 37 hours a week since July 2018.

John Griffiths AM - Newport East, Labour

He has employed his wife Alison Griffiths as an administrator on 37 hours a week since 2003.

Neil Hamilton AM - Mid and West Wales, UKIP

(Image: Liverpool Echo/Colin Lane)

Mr Hamilton has employed his wife Christine Hamilton as a senior advisor (previously PA) for 37 hours a week since May 2016.

Only last week Mr Hamilton went on a bizarre video rant where he denied climate change is happening.

We put together this video fact checking his claims:

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Mark Isherwood AM - North Wales, Conservatives

He has employed his wife Hilary Isherwood as a constituency caseworker for five hours a week since May 2003.

Julie James AM - Swansea West, Labour

(Image: Western Mail)

She has employed her son Oliver James-Flatt as a communications and press officer on 30 hours a week since August 2018.

Caroline Jones AM - South Wales Central, Independent (formerly UKIP AM)

(Image: WalesOnline)

She has employed her husband Alun Williams as a community caseworker for 37.5 hours a week since 2017.

Darren Millar AM - Clwyd West, Conservatives

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

Mr Millar has employed his wife Rebekah Millar as an administrator and caseworker on 22.2 hours a week since November 2007.

Mark Reckless AM - South Wales East, Conservative (formerly UKIP)

(Image: Mark Reckless)

He has employed his wife Catorina Reckless as a senior adviser for 37 hours (previously 29.6) a week since December 2016.

After leaving UKIP Mark Reckless is technically an independent who sits with the Conservative Group in the Assembly.

David Rees AM - Aberavon, Labour

Has employed his daughter Angharad Thomas as a researcher and communications officer on 28 hours a week (formally 22.3) since February 2013.

David J Rowlands AM - South Wales East, UKIP

(Image: MLA Photography)

He has employed his wife Keryn Rowlands as "head of office" on 37 hours a week since May 2016.

Jack Sargeant AM - Alyn and Deeside, Labour

(Image: Richard Williams)

Mr Sargeant has employed his uncle Martin White as a caseworker for 22.2 hours a week since March 2018.

Joyce Watson AM - Mid and West Wales, Labour

(Image: Joyce Watson)

Has employed her daughter Fiona Openshaw as a researcher for 14.5 hours a week since 2015.

What do the AMs say? No Assembly Member would reply individually to our requests for comment. We received no response from the Welsh Conservatives or UKIP. A Labour Group spokesman said it was said that Labour AMs who employed family members "had no involvement in shortlisting or interviewing" The spokesman said: "The Assembly’s arrangements for the employment of AM support staff, which currently allows for the inclusion of family members, is robust, transparent and run independently by staff employed by the Assembly Commission, under rules which have been determined by the independent Remuneration Board. "Recruitment decisions involving family members have been taken out of the hands of the employing AM, who has no involvement in shortlisting or interviewing, with independent Commission staff recommending the most qualified candidate identified by the process. "The Labour Group has at all times complied with the rules set out by the independent Remuneration Board around the employment of family members."

Assembly members who employ other AMs' relatives

Some AMs do not employ direct family members but are still required to declare when they employ the relative of another AM at the public's expense.

Paul Davies AM - Preseli Pembrokeshire, Conservatives

(Image: Getty Images)

Mr Davies has employed Jennifer Davidson as a researcher and PA for 37 hours a week since March 2010. She is the partner of Assemby Member Nick Ramsay.

He also employs Calum Davies as a communications and administrative assistant for 37 hours a week since June 2018. He is the son of AM Suzy Davies.

First minister Mark Drakeford AM - Cardiff West, Labour

(Image: Richard Swingler)

He has employed Laura Murton as the Labour Group policy and co-ordination officer since August 2018. She is the wife of AM Hannah Blythyn.

Laura Murton was in post before her relationship with Hannah Blythyn.

What are the rules around AMs employing family members? In October an independent Remuneration Board recommended an end to AMs being allowed to employ their own family members citing "public trust in and perception of the reputation" of the National Assembly. However in February the body which decides on Assembly Members’ pay and allowances decided to allow AMs to carry on employing their relatives until 2026. Originally, the Remuneration Board decided the practice should end by 2021, but after taking account of representations made to it, chose to allow it to carry on until 2026. In a letter to AMs, the board's chair Dame Dawn Primarolo said: "Following a consideration of the responses it has received to its consultation on the matter, the board has agreed to provide a longer 'transition period' for those family members currently employed by AMs." The board has agreed that no funding will be made available for new family members who are employed by AMs from April 1, 2019. This means that AMs are not able to hire new family members now but those already in place can stay in post.

Assembly members who have previously employed their own or another AM's family

Michelle Brown AM - North Wales, Independent (formally UKIP)

(Image: Nigel Williams)

Ms Brown employed her brother Richard Baxendale as a case worker for 37 hours a week between June 2016 and January 2017.

Carwyn Jones AM - Bridgend, Labour

(Image: DAILY MIRROR)

Employed Laura Murton as the Labour Group policy and co-ordination officer when he was First Minister. She is the wife of AM Hannah Blythyn.

Laura Murton was in post before her relationship with Hannah Blythyn.

MPs who are employing members of their family

Since the last election MPs were banned from hiring members of their family known as "connected parties".

However, if they already had a family member in post before the last election they were allowed to be kept on.

According to the latest data released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority of the 40 Welsh MPs, eight of them employed family members between 2017-18 (the latest data available).

Of these MPs four were Labour (14% of all Welsh Labour MPs) and four were Conservative (50% of all Welsh Conservative MPs).

Ann Clwyd MP - Cynon Valley, Labour

She has employed her niece Bethan Haydon-Jones as an executive office manager on a salary of up to £4,999.99.

Ann Clwyd declined to comment.

David Davies MP - Monmouth, Conservative

(Image: Mirrorpix)

He has employed her wife Aliz Harnisfoger-Davies as an office manager/ senior secretary on between £10,000 and £14,999.99.

Mr Davies was one of two MPs or AMs to reply to us individually to supply comment.

In a statement, he said: "My wife works for me on a part-time capacity as an office manager/senior secretary.

"Amongst others her main tasks are maintaining my diary and doing all of the office accounts, budget relating tasks and anything relating to HR.

"For this role she needs to have access to my bank account and personal calendar. She has also been able to undertake other roles when people have been away due to illness."

Gerald Jones MP - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Labour

(Image: MLA Photography)

He has employed his partner Tyrone Powell as an office manager/ senior parliamentary assistant on between £35,000 and £39,999.99.

This is the highest salary of any related person working for a Welsh MP.

Glyn Davies MP - Montgomeryshire, Conservative

He has employed his wife Bobbie Davies as a senior secretary on between £20,000 and £24,999.99.

Mr Davies declined to comment.

Guto Bebb MP - Aberconwy, Conservative

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

He has employed his wife Esyllt Penri as an office manager on between £20,000 and £24,999.99.

In a statement, Mr Bebb said: "Esyllt ceased employment with my office in 2017."

Ian Lucas MP - Wrexham, Labour

(Image: PA)

Mr Lucas has employed his wife Norah Lucas as a senior secretary on between £15,000 and £19,999.99.

He declined to comment.

Mark Tami MP - Alyn and Deeside, Labour

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

He has employed his wife Sally Tami as a diary secretary on between £15,000 and £19,999.99.

Mr Tami declined to comment.

Simon Hart MP - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Conservative

(Image: Simon Hart MP)

He has employed his wife Abigail Hart as an office manager on between £25,000 and £29,999.99.