§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990–91;
(2) what were the figures for the spending by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990–91.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[holding answer 12 March 1990]: Information relating to the financial years between 1979–80 and 1984–85 inclusive is not readily available and cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. Final decisions have not yet been made about cost to be incurred in 1990–91.
Following is the information relating to the remaining financial years in respect of paid publicity and associated staff costs for my Department including PSA:
£ million 1985–86 3.5 1986–87 4.2 1987–88 4.8 1988–89 6.9 11989–90 15.0 1 Forecast outturn. Expenditure is not broken down between different publicity media.
The increase in expenditure in 1989–90 is mainly due to specific information campaigns on new legislation on local government finance and housing and to encourage the use of lead-free petrol. Publicity expenditure arising in the course of the flotation of the 10 water plcs is not included and will be notified to Parliament in the usual way.