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Vince Cable runs the smallest ministerial office, according to a league table revealing office costs.
The Liberal Democrat business secretary has half the staff of fellow cabinet ministers Caroline Spelman at Defra and a third of the staff of William Hague at the Foreign Office.
Cable has just six people working within his private office, compared to environment secretary Caroline Spelman's twelve.
Cable also has just a third of the 18 full-time staff in the foreign secretary William Hague's private office costing £582,000 a year compared to £258,000 at the business department.
Home secretary Theresa May has 14 staff costing £545,000, while health secretary Andrew Lansley has 12 staff costing £481,000.
The most expensive Liberal Democrat is deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, with nine staff costing £422,958.
And culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, who abandoned his department's ministerial car pool, has office costs of just £236,339 a year.
Labour MP Tom Watson (West Bromwich East), who obtained the figures, said: "What are they doing to poor Vince Cable, making him work with just six staff compared to William Hague's 18?
"I think people will be shocked at how the PM places different values on each of his ministers."
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "The government is reviewing every aspect of public spending. Private offices provide an essential support service to ministers."
The Public and Commercial Services Union has claimed that fifteen thousand jobs could be lost at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), in a letter revealing plans to cut £2bn from its budget.
The union warns 15,000 of the 80,000 staff at the ministry are at risk.
In response the MoJ said no decision had yet been made.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd