§ Mr. GrocottTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based(a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThere are currently 31 information officers employed by the Department of Environment including those employed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. All deal with the full range of information services; none are exclusively press officers. These staff are all located in London. None are employed in the House.
Additionally officers are employed in an information role in the va[...]ious agencies directly accountable to the Department.
Regional services in England are provided by the Central Office of Information.