§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers there were in his Department in each year since 1992. [146694]
§ Mr. StrawDetailed staff profiles for the period prior to 1997 are not held centrally and, as I informed the House on 23 March 2000,Official Report, column 677W, the cost of providing this information would be disproportionate as it would require the Home Office pay branch to conduct a detailed search of all staff records for the periods in question. Payroll records would not, in any event, provide accurate press officer staffing levels which throughout the period in question were enhanced by attachments and secondments and would not necessarily have been reflected in payroll information.
543WFor numbers of press officers employed at the Home Office since May 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 17 March 2000, Official Report, column 380W, which detailed staff numbers as of 1 January for the years 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
For the current number and projected number, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 15 January 2001, Official Report, column 106W.