§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997. [183843]
Mr. Gareth ThomasCommunication is integral to DFID's mission. DFID does not keep central records of all staff working on communications across the Department and this information could not be gathered without incurring a disproportionate cost for the years specified. Information on the press office is available from 1997 and is set out in the following table for all completed financial years to 2003–04.
Number of press officers Annual cost 1997–98 6 243,000 1998–99 4 240,000 1999–2000 3.3 100,000 2000–01 4.5 150,000 2001–02 4 148,000 2002–03 5 191,000 2003–04 6 230,000