§ Mr. Litterickasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish in the Official Report a statement describ- 264W ing the functions of the Information Policy Branch in Northern Ireland;
(2) if he will publish in the Official Report figures showing the current establishment of the Information Policy Branch serving in Ulster, together with the corresponding figures for 1975 and 1974, showing in each case the numbers of military and civilian personnel employed.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownThere is no Information Policy Branch and I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the Information Planning Section which is a part of the Army Information Service at Headquarters Northern Ireland. It has a very small staff whose function is to advise the GOC on the public relations aspects of Army operations and to prepare public information programmes. The Army Information Service maintains a close liaison with the NIO Information Department and is also responsible for running a 24-hour Press desk, providing a wide range of Press facilities and producing a newspaper for the forces in Northern Ireland.