To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are classified as (i) communicators and (ii) have access to the Government Communication Network. (291843)

There are currently 67 staff in the Communications Career Home within core DEFRA including individuals outside the Communications Directorate.

All UK civil servants can access the Government Communication Network (GCN) to view and receive e-mail alerts for job vacancies but they must be working as a communicator to register as a member and access networking areas of the site.

Information on Communicators in DEFRA Executive Agencies and NDPB’s is not held centrally at present. However, these data are likely to become available over the next few months.