FOI Request
Please can you confirm the total Number of staff within your office (or attached by contract) who have media or communications in a PR/marketing/social media sense in their job descriptions. Please also provide the total (Cumulative and not broken down by role) annual costs for salary’s/contract payments for each of the last five years.
FOI Response
The number of people who work for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner who have media or communications in a PR/marketing/social media sense in their job descriptions – plus their salary costs for the five years specified are below:
- 2015/16 – £18,168 – 1 Person
- 2016/17 – £34,055 – 2 People
- 2017/18 – £45,432 – 2 People
- 2018/19 – £68,324 – 2 People
- 2019/20 – £74,351 – 3 People
The information provided above reflects the phased establishment of an in-house communications function for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner between 2015 and 2020. Prior to November 2016, media and communications was primarily handled by Cleveland Police’s Corporate Communications Unit, with additional support from the PCC’s Strategic Media Advisor, who works on an off-call basis. The establishment of an OPCC in-house team was important in defining the clear and appropriate separation between the police force and the OPCC in key media messaging.
In November 2016, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner recruited its first in-house member of communications support staff in the Support Officer for PCC Services and Communications role. The role supports the OPCC with day-to-day communications needs, in addition to providing a support function for the wider OPCC team, including community engagement, events, administration, transparency and other OPCC requirements.
Following a review of the OPCC by senior management in 2018, a need for further in-house communications provision was identified, as was a requirement for the organisation to prepare for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The Commissioner’s Officer for Communications and Information post was created to deliver in-house strategic media and communications functions, in addition to maintaining statutory standards regarding information management and data protection. The post holder fulfils the role of Data Protection Officer for the OPCC.
Date responded: 16 June 2020