§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his reply of 3 November, to what factor he attributes the increase between 1983–84 and 1984–85 in his Department's expenditure on press advertising.
§ Mr. Butcher[holding answer 9 November 1987]: In any one year the Department of Trade and Industry undertakes a wide range of advertising projects. These have differing durations and may span more than one financial year. Consequently the sums spent on promoting individual activities, and the total amount, can vary from one year to the next.
Between 1983–84 and 1984–85 there was increased expenditure on services for small firms, trade promotion, and inward investment, partly offset by a lower level of spend on high technology.
In addition, I regret that there was a transposition of digits in my answer of 3 November. The expenditure for 1984–85 should read £2,081,883 and not £2,810,883.