Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff of her Department are employed in media relations and communications roles; and how much was spent on the salaries of such staff members in each of the last 10 years.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ ) works to protect the public, reduce reoffending and provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system. It is vital that this work is communicated.

The communication section of the Communications and Information Directorate (CID) at MOJ Head Office currently has 45 staff employed in media relations and communications roles, including 30 staff in the MOJ press office.

The MOJ press office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and deals with all national, regional and specialist media enquiries for the department and its agencies including the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Legal Aid Agency (LAA) and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS).

Other communications roles in CID include campaigns officers, planning, digital, speechwriting and internal communications staff.

The breakdown of information requested on salaries and staff number of such staff members in each of the last ten years is not held centrally and compiling this information would incur a disproportionate cost.