asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians are employed in information services in his Department, categorised by rank; and what is the cost of providing such services.

The number of civilian staff in my Department engaged directly in information services to the media and the general public at 1 April 1980 broken down by grade, together with their approximate cost based on annual average salaries and employers' national insurance contributions was as follows:flights were mounted. On the return journey the aircraft stopped at Colombo, Bahrein and Athens.