§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many(a) civil servants and (b) Special Advisers involved in media relations were employed within her Department at 1 May (i) 1997, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 1999. [84205]
§ Clare ShortDetailed information on the numbers of permanent civil servants employed in Departmental Press Offices during the financial years 1997–98 and 1998–99 was provided in a memorandum dated 16 June 1998 to the Select Committee on Public Administration and published in its report on "The Government Information and Communication Service (HC 770)" in July 1998. A copy is in the Library of the House. On 1 May 1999, my Department had three civil servants working full-time on media relations and two other civil servants whose wider duties included contact with the media.
Special Advisers in this Department had ad hoc contact with the media but none are specifically employed in media relations.