To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to his Department of employing (a) press officers and (b) other press office staff has been in each year since 1997. (283071)

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was created on 5 June. Figures are not available for BIS but are available for the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI).

The total staffing costs for Press Office staff for the former BERR, DIUS and DTI are:

Figures for earlier years for the DTI and a breakdown of costs for press officers and non-press officers could be provided only at disproportionate costs.