§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [132768]
§ Dr. ReidIn the report on the Government Information and Communications Service (GICS) by the Select Committee on Public Administration (29 July 1998), the number of press officers in the Scottish Office in 1997 was given as 30, with expenditure of £713,000; in 1998 as 30 with expenditure of £803,000; and in 1999 as 33 with expenditure estimated at £822,000.
876WThe Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. On 1 January 2000 the Department had two press officers based in Scotland and two press officers based in London. The total salary cost of press officers from 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2000 was £44,078.