Cost of the communications team in 2020-21 and 2021-22

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.027572

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please provide information for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years on the cost of the communications team at the force, including

• The total remuneration bill, including salaries, pensions, bonuses for the communications team

• A list of staff working in the communications team for each of the financial years, including the job title, the pay band and what their FTE is (I am not seeking information on any personal details)

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - The total remuneration bill, including salaries, pensions, bonuses for the communications team

The Police Staff costs (including agency costs) for the entire DMC department for the full year in 2020/21 and 2021/22. The figures are as below:

2020/21: £5,803,591.10
2021/22: £5,726,615.23

Q2 - A list of staff working in the communications team for each of the financial years, including the job title, the pay band and what their FTE is

Please see attached spreadsheet.

The Met's Directorate of Media and Communication (DMC) is responsible for communication for London's largest employer and to a population of more than 8 million.

The roles covered include a seven days a week press office, social media, internal communications, and publicity and marketing (including recruitment advertising).
The Met takes very seriously its duty to be open and transparent with the public.

Communications is also used to help identify suspects, encourage witnesses to come forward, finding vulnerable missing people and prevent crime. Media briefings, interviews with police officers and media access to police operations, information released daily through our own social media channels, and campaigns all have an important part to play in that. Our internal communications helps ensure officers and staff have the information they need to do their jobs whilst our recruitment campaigns are critical in ensuring that officer numbers aren’t just maintained by grow.