§ Mr. Maddenasked the Prime Minister what is the total number of officials in her Office and in Government Departments who are designated as information officers, or who are primarily concerned with giving information to the media; and what is the total cost, including salaries, of those officials.
§ The Prime MinisterIn all Government Departments there are currently 998 staff in the information officer group and 58 associated senior staff in the open structure. Their annual costs are estimated to be £26.9 million, including salaries, and overheads for accommodation and common services.
Information officers are engaged on a wide variety of duties including press office work, Government publicity at home and abroad, and internal information. There are no central records of the number of staff in other grades whose duties involve giving information to the media.
390WFive members of staff in my office have responsibilities for giving information to the media.