§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many press officers were employed in his Department in(a) May 1997, (b) January 1998, (c) January 1999 and (d) January 2000; and what the total expenditure on press officers by his Department was in each of the years concerned. [132766]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonFor the number of press officers employed by the Treasury, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 17 May 2000,Official Report, column 183W, to the right hon. Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Mr. Portillo). As to expenditure, due to staff changes it is not possible to provide accurate figures for May 1997 on a consistent basis. However, basic salary costs for Treasury press officers for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000 to date are as follows:
£ Press officer basic salary costs 1998 246,103 1999 192,541 2000(to date) 53,470