§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what will be the total spending of his Department on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.
§ Dr. Mawhinney[pursuant to his reply, 19 November 1986, c. 257]: The total expenditure for the current financial year is estimated at £658,500
The actual expenditure on general promotional activities and staff costs for the earlier years by part of the information service which covers the Northern Ireland Office, Belfast and the Northern Ireland Departments was as follows:
£ 1985–86 482,473 1984–85 421,824 1983–84 420,779 1982–83 421,696 1981–82 415,957 1980–81 455,873 1979–80 344,181 Information about expenditure by members of the information service in London and all accommodation costs have not been kept separately and could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.