HL Deb 02 May 1978 vol 391 cc167-8WA
Lord BRUCE of DONINGTON

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will state, in respect of each of the years 1969–1977 inclusive, the expenditures of the British Gas Corporation, including its area boards, on advertising, market research and research and development, the figures for which are not available in the published accounts of the Corporation.

Lord STRABOLGI

I am advised by the British Gas Corporation that it is not readily possible to quantify expenditure on advertising and market research, as such, within the wider classification "Publicity, Displays, and Exhibitions", or to eliminate "Testing" from the category "Research Testing and Development". The figures for those wider headings are:—

Research Testing and Development£millions Publicity, Displays and Exhibitions£millions
1968–69 4.0 4.2
1969–70 4.3 5.1
1970–71 5.1 5.3
1971–72 6.0 5.3
1972–73 8.3 6.4
1973–74 7.7 6.1
1974–75 11.7 7.5
1975–76 16.1 7.6
1976–77 18.2 10.7