HC Deb 23 March 1950 vol 472 c2170
71. Mr. De la Bère

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider amalgamating the duties of public relations officers and Press officers in Government Departments in order to effect a saving in personnel

Mr. Douglas Jay

A separate Press Officer is employed only in a Department where the volume of work is so great that it could not be carried by the information officer himself.

Mr. De la Bère

Is it not a fact that there are an overwhelming number of public relations officers, and that many of these men are employed solely to boost the Ministers of their Departments? Let us have the truth for once.

Mr. Jay

No, Sir, Government Departments receive a great many inquiries from the Press, and it would be very inefficient if they were answered by a large number of different people.

Mr. Stanley

Can the hon. Gentleman say which are the Departments where this work is so heavy that they have to have two officers?

Mr. Jay

I can mention some of the Departments where that is not so. They include the Ministry of Pensions, Customs and Excise, Forestry Commission and one or two others.

Mr. Stanley

Am I to understand that these are the only ones who do not have two officers?

Mr. Jay

There are only one or two others; these are the majority.

Sir H. Williams

Is it not the constitutional practice that Ministers themselves are the only appropriate people to be public relations officers?