§ Mr. William Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government have spent in each of the past five years on advertising in the Morning Star.
§ Mr. NottThere has been no expenditure by the Central Office of Information on Government advertising in any of the last five years in theMorning Star newspaper.
Selection of newspapers to carry Government advertising has to be made on a commercial basis in relation to the size and nature of the target audience which naturally varies with the subject matter of the campaign. The cost of access to any particular audience is calculated by using newspapers' certified circulation figures and an analysis of their readership in relation to the cost of advertising space. This enables the greatest value to be obtained for a given budget. Unlike every other national newspaper, the Morning Star provides no certified circulation figures. If this information were to be provided the newspaper would be considered for Government advertising in exactly the same way as other national newspapers.