HC Deb 14 June 1994 vol 244 cc500-2
2. Mr. Enright

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what sum of money has been spent on publicising the policies and activities of his Department over (a) the last five years and (b) the five-year period prior to that.

Mr. Boswell

In the past five years, the Government have spent £31.6 million on providing information to parents, teachers, school governors and others. From 1984–85 to 1989–90, £4.8 million was spent.

This spending on publicity is currently running at around 0.15 per cent. of the Department's own spending on education.

Mr. Enright

The Minister has said that he is proud of the increased spending on education, but is he proud of the fact that for every £1 spent on publicity when the Government took office £90 is now being spent? Would he not be better advised to spend on real research the millions of pounds that are now put aside instead of trying to justify his petty party-political prejudices by expensive and glossy magazines?

Mr. Boswell

I hope that the hon. Gentleman feels better after getting that off his chest. Any expenditure by Government Departments on publicity is governed by a strict code of practice. We believe that it is an important part of the information revolution to give real information to parents, as we did in our parents charters this morning. Yes, it is a significant amount of money, but it is interesting to note that it is only half of that which we are still giving in grant to, for example, the inner London councils following the end of the Inner London education authority. It is a trivial amount in comparison with the total spending on education.

Madam Speaker

May we have briefer answers, please?

Mr. Pawsey

I hope that my hon. Friend will disregard the ill-considered comments of the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Mr. Enright). If the Government's reforms were not publicised, would not the Opposition be the first to criticise us for seeking to introduce them by stealth?

Mr. Boswell

The answer to my hon. Friend is yes and yes. It is for parents to decide, on the strength of the information that we provide, whether or not our reforms are well conceived.

Mr. Don Foster

In spending all this money on advertising, does the Minister look for value for money? Does he agree that it was not value for money to spend £200,000 of taxpayers' money advertising grant-maintained status when, following the advertisements—this information is based on figures supplied by his own Department—only one hundredth of 1 per cent. of the people who saw them responded by requesting further information and the number of schools that balloted yes for grant-maintained status declined by 20 per cent. following those advertisements?

Mr. Boswell

There are a number of excellent grant-maintained schools functioning in the hon. Gentleman's part of the world; perhaps that had something to do with the disappointment that he experienced at the weekend. The total expenditure is 26p per pupil on our advisory and publicity campaign in relation to grant-maintained status. That, along with other initiatives, is money very well spent.

Mr. Dunn

Is it possible for some public money to be set aside to create a mechanism whereby the Opposition spokesman on education could be allowed, forced or intimidated into revealing their policies, given that the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mrs. Taylor) does not reply to letters on aspects of her party's policy?

Mr. Boswell

That is an interesting suggestion and one which I am prepared to discuss with my right hon. Friend, but to judge by the responses to date there would be a very heavy bill indeed for remedial education on that side of the House.

Mrs. Ann Taylor

Will the Minister take this opportunity to answer the original question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Hemsworth (Mr. Enright) and confirm that Government figures show that the Department for Education is now spending £90 on publicity for every £1 that was spent previously? Has any other aspect of Government spending increased by 9,000 per cent. since 1979? Is it not a sad reflection on the two years during which the Secretary of State has been in his present position that his main achievement has been to waste a record amount of taxpayers' money on self-publicity?

Mr. Boswell

On the contrary—my right hon. Friend has spent taxpayers' money wisely to advise parents and citizens at large of the merits of the Government's policy. It would perhaps be to the point if the Opposition parties were to provide an indication of their policies. Good policies require good information to be given to parents so that parents can benefit from what is being achieved.