§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Solicitor-General what the total cost of running the Department's press office was in(a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [46800]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 9 April 2002] The single press officer who acts for both my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, and the Treasury Solicitor's Department also acts as Private Secretary to the Attorney-General. Costs incurred in relation to the press office aspect of the post cannot be separately calculated.
No figures are available for the total cost of running the Crown Prosecution Service's press office in 1996–97. The total cost in 2000–01 (the latest year for which figures are available) was £205,269.
The cost of running the press office of the Serious Fraud Office in 1996–97 was £170,439. The figure for 2001–02, which is provisional, is £201,003.