§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 July,Official Report, column 161, on postal votes before the last general election, what was the amount spent on (a) television and (b) newspaper advertisements; and what measures were taken to inform blind and partially sighted people of the availability of postal votes. [9163]
§ Mr. George Howarth(a) £305,000 and (b) £395,000. Advice on absent voting provisions for blind and partially sighted electors at the general election were provided to the editors of talking newspaper services through the offices of the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 July,Official Report, column 161, on postal votes before the last general election, for what reasons his Department did not use radio advertisements. [9162]
§ Mr. HowarthThe publicity campaign about absent voting on television and in the newspapers was considered to be the most cost-effective way to reach as large an audience as possible within the period available after the general election was announced for applications to be made. Because there are so many very different radio stations, it would not have been possible to achieve such wide coverage through radio advertisements. The Government monitor the effectiveness of their advertising and we are of course prepared to consider using a different medium if that would be more suitable.