HC Deb 18 May 1993 vol 225 cc121-2W
Mr. McLeish

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will place in the Library the statistics used in the advertisement placed by Her Majesty's consulate general in Düsseldorf in the German business newspaperHandelsblatt promoting investment in Britain;

(2) if he will outline the principles governing the promotion of investment in Britain, through advertising in foreign newspapers;

(3) what was the cost of the advertisement recently placed in the German business newspaper Handelsblatt entitled "Niedrigere Lohnkosten in Grossbritannien";

(4) what discussions took place with the European Commission on the advertisements relating to inward investment placed in the German newspaper by Her Majesty's consulate general in Düsseldorf;

(5) if he will make a statement on the campaign by the Invest in Britain Bureau on inward investment including the annual costs of press and television advertising in Europe, America and Japan and the sources of information used; and which Government Department is responsible for the placing of advertising material.

Mr. Sainsbury

[holding answer 17 May 1993]: The Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau (IBB) is the principal Government organisation charged with the responsibility for attracting inward investment into the United Kingdom.

As part of a much wider promotional and marketing effort designed to maintain our position as the preferred location in Europe for internationally mobile investment projects, the bureau has undertaken regular advertising campaigns in North America and more recently in Europe.

During the 1992–93 financial year the IBB spent a total of £860,000 on press advertising in North America and Europe. No advertising was commissioned in Japan. No television advertising has been placed.

The cost of each of the IBB advertisements placed in Handelsblatt was around £4,600. Copies of the survey prepared by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Cologne, from which the statistics used in the Handelsblatt advertisement were taken, have been placed in the Library.

There have been no discussions with the European Commission about the advertising campaign.