To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff there were in (a) his Department’s predecessor in 1997 and (b) his Department on the latest date for which figures are available. (292058)

Information about staff numbers in the Department of the Environment on 1 April 1997 are given in Civil Service Statistics 1997 which can be accessed via the link at:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/archived-reports.aspx

In accordance with the definition provided by the Office for National Statistics, there were 2,266 staff (full-time equivalent) in Communities and Local Government at 30 September 2009.