To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many inspectors were employed by her Department in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 1997-98. (228090)

During the financial year 2007-08 the Planning Inspectorate, an Executive Agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government, employed a total of 293 (full-time equivalent) inspectors. For the financial year 1997-98 it employed a total of 198 (full-time equivalent) inspectors.