Advisers are governed by a code of conduct which goes some way to defining their role and delineates relations with the permanent civil service, contact with the media and relationship with the governing party, inter alia:the employment of special advisers adds a political dimension to the advice and assistance available to Ministers while reinforcing the political impartiality of the permanent Civil Service by distinguishing the source of political advice and support [...] Special advisers are employed to help Ministers on matters where the work of Government and the work of the Government Party overlap and where it would be inappropriate for permanent civil servants to become involved.
The government had previously accepted calls, made in 2000 by the Neill Committee on Standards in Public Life, for such a legal cap.
[12] Being a special adviser has become a frequent career stage for young politicians, before being elected Members of Parliament, which has attracted criticism.
[13] Fiction set within the Westminster village frequently includes characters that are special advisers, such as Frank Weisel in Yes Minister, and Ollie Reeder and Glen Cullen in The Thick of It at the ministerial level, and figures like Malcolm Tucker (also of The Thick of It) seen operating at the apex of power, often overriding or manipulating Prime Ministers and other world leaders.
Shortly after Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019, British Comedian Josh Berry gained online media attention for his character Rafe Hubris, an arrogant, Eton-educated SpAd at 10 Downing Street, who calls Johnson 'BloJo', his chief of staff Dominic Cummings 'Big Daddy Cum-Cum' and health secretary Matt Hancock 'Matt Cock-in-his-Hands'.