§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much his Department spent on(a) advertising, (b) public relations and (c) entertainment in each of the last five financial years. [1261]
Mr. John M. Taylor[holding answer 4 November 1996]Total departmental spend on advertising is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost. The advertising expenditure from centrally managed budgets for the years in question is as follows:
- 1991–92: £966,000
- 1992–93: £1,139,000
- 1993–94: £784,000
- 1994–95: £561,000
- 1995–96: £1,088.000.
While DTI has no expenditure on public relations from centrally managed budgets, its information directorate is responsible for providing information about my Department's policies and activities to businesses, the public and the media. It does this through a wide range of communications means including news releases, answering inquiries from the media, publicity campaigns, briefings, exhibitions and publications.
For the expenditure on official hospitality I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 16 October 1996, Official Report, columns 955–56.