Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the central Department for Business and Trade communications team, there are a total of 115 Full Time Equivalent Government Communication Service professionals.
Of this total, 22 work in the media discipline which covers press and media responsibilities. This is the latest available data from June 2024.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating socioeconomic background reporting for all employers with over 250 employees.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has not undertaken any such assessment. Companies are already required to disclose employee matters and can choose to include socioeconomic aspects where relevant to their business. For example, all large companies in the UK must include information on employees as part of their Annual Report’s Section 172(1) Statement. This should detail how employees are consulted, and their views considered, in decision making, ensuring employees of all backgrounds feel involved in how the company is run. It is a matter of good practice to collect data on employee background that the company can choose to communicate its workforce inclusivity.