§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list(a) those units in his Department and (b) the number of departmental staff which are concerned with preparing rebuttals of allegations in the media; and what is (i) the total cost of their work, including salaries, and (ii) the number of rebuttals issued since May 1997. [71859]
§ Mr. MichaelRebuttals of allegations in the media are made in my Department by individual press officers either through telephone calls to the organisation concerned, or through an appropriate letter signed by an official or a Minister. Generally, it is found that reporting of Welsh matters in the regional and national media is of a response nature, and the need for rebuttals is infrequent. For that reason, there is no special unit in the Department to handle rebuttals, and no record is kept centrally of the number or cost of rebuttals.