§ Mr. CameronTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was spent by his Office on press officers, broken down by grade, in(a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available. [185241]
§ Mr. Alexander[holding answer 19 July 2004]: Financial and human resource information for periods, prior to, and including 1996–97 is not held on the Cabinet Office's current databases. Hence, information for 1996–97 could be provided in the manner requested only at disproportionate cost. However, information about the number of press officers working in Cabinet Office press office during this period is available in Appendix 11 to PASC—Sixth Report.
Press office provides a service to the Minister for the Cabinet Office; Minister without Portfolio; Leader and Deputy Leader of the Commons; Leader of the Lords; Cabinet Secretary; Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator and the Permanent Secretary Government Communications. It is also responsible for supporting the Managing Director of the Cabinet Office and the Heads of Management Units in the Cabinet Office.
The last year for which information is available is 2003–04. At January 2004 the Cabinet Office Press Office had the following press officer posts:
- a full-time head of news post—SCSI:
- two full-time chief press officer posts—G7;
- two full-time senior press officer posts—TIS3/SIO;
- a senior press officer—TIS3/SIO who spent 50 per cent. of her time on press office duties;
- three full-time press officers—TIS2/IO and B2.
Some of these posts remained vacant for a large part of 2003–04. The total salary costs, including employer contributions and overtime, for the above posts in the 2003–04 financial year was £436,433.00. These figures are subject to final audit by the National Audit Office (NAO). In order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned it would be inappropriate to break down the cost by grade.