§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what has been the total wage bill for her Department for each year since its inception; and what the projected figures for(a) total wages and (b) total staff numbers are for 2004–05. [164082] Alun Michael: The expenditure and projected expenditure for DEFRA and its agencies is as follows:
£000 2001–02 333,414 2002–03 380,358 2003–04 393,544 2004–05 387,291 The forecast staff numbers for 2004–05 is 13,106.