To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) marketing officers, (b) communications officers and (c) press officers are employed in his Department; and what the total expenditure on communications for his Department was on (i) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (ii) other (A) press officers, (B) special advisers and (C) staff in the last year for which figures are available. (104364)

As at 1 October 2006 there were 103 staff working in communications roles directly employed by the Department's Media and Communications Directorate; 29 performing press officer roles and 14 performing marketing/publicity roles. These include military as well as civilian staff. The figure of 103 does not however include those working in communications roles (including press officer and marketing/publicity) across the Department directly employed by Defence agencies, joint headquarters, single-service commands, or at unit level, some of whom perform these roles in addition to a non-communications main role. Total expenditure on communications is not held centrally.

The Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) has been superseded by what is now the Government Communications Network (GCN). The GCN was launched in January 2005 and open to all civilian and military staff in the Department performing communications work to register. As at 1 October 2006 the total number who had self-registered to the GCN in MOD was approximately 200. Work however is underway to establish a more accurate baseline of communications staff in the Department.