Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in his Department.

The Directorate of Defence Communications (DDC) in the Ministry of Defence Head Office currently has 81 staff employed in media relations and communications role, 17 of whom are military personnel. These roles include, for example, news, campaigns, strategy and planning, digital, and internal communications.

The average number of staff working in The DDC to deliver the communications functions in 2019-20 was 92, 2020-21 was 90 and 2021-22 was 87. Expenditure on communications staffing was £7.534 million in 2019-20, £7.872 million in 2020-21 and £6.891 million in 2021-22.