To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much expenditure his Department incurred on the employment of special advisers and communications and press officers in each year since 2003. (319756)

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was formed in May 2007.

Special Advisers

The amount spent on special advisers is as follows:

The figures above represent the element of costs within note 9 (a) to the published departmental annual resource accounts that relates to MoJ’s Request for Resource 1 in respect of MoJ headquarters and executive agencies. The balance of the published totals, which amount to £424,000 in 2008-09 and £511,000 in 2007-08, reflects the costs of Special Advisors supporting the Scotland Office (MoJ Request for Resource 2) and the Wales Office (MoJ Request for Resource 3).

Press Officers

The cost of press officers, including contractors and agency staff and excluding support staff, is as follows:

Communications Officers

Communications officers include intranet/internet staff, event organisation, marketing and publishing staff and others involved in communications roles. Expenditure, including contractors and agency staff within the head office team, is as follows:

The costs of press officers and communications officers relate to MoJ headquarters and its four executive agencies (HM Courts Service, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian).

The growth in expenditure on press officers and communications officers reflects the significantly increased size and remit of MoJ compared to its predecessor, the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and a consequent need to increase the number and capability of staff employed. To meet the challenge, a number of communications-led projects were undertaken which required the employment of specialist contractors by the MoJ HQ Communications Directorate for a limited period of time which further increased costs in 2008-09 on a one-off basis.

The MoJ is one of the largest Departments in Government. Communications, including the work of the press office, is an important element of this. The MoJ press office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, dealing with all media relations for the Department and its agencies from the international, national and regional media.