§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the distribution of his Office's whole-time equivalent staff including the staff in agencies and other bodies reporting to him was in each Government office region and nation of the UK(a) in 1996 and (b) at the most recent available period. [90480]
§ Mr. LeslieThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following machinery of Government changes in May 2002. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 15 January 2003,Official Report. column 609W, which sets out the number of staff for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's predecessors bodies.