§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many copies of the film "A Better Road to Peace" have been made; what is the cost of the film's production, distribution and publicity; and what is its total cost.
§ Mr. BlakerSo far 145 copies of "A Better Road to Peace" have been made. The costs were given in answer to the hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) on 18 February 1983.—[Vol. 37, c. 284.] There was no special publicity.
§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many copies of each of the following leaflets have been produced; and what is the cost of each (a) "Trident—Vital for Britain", (b) "Arms Control and Security", (c) "The Peace Game", (d) "A Nuclear Free Europe", (e) "Nuclear Weapons and Preventing War", (f) "Cruise Missiles—The Important Questions", (g) "The Balanced View" and (h) "How to Deal with a Bully".
§ Mr. BlakerI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer he was given on 1 March by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.—[Vol. 38, c.85–6.] "The Balanced View" was produced for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A total of 80,000 copies were produced, and the cost was £6,800 excluding VAT.
§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities the Royal Navy, Army and the Royal Air Force provide for the education of the public about defence policy.
§ Mr. BlakerThe Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have presentation teams which give informative talks on the role of their respective services. The teams visit educational establishments, civil institutions and similar venues.
§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the public meetings and educational events organised by the Royal Navy, Army and the Royal Air Force for each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
§ Mr. BlakerThe information cannot be provided in the form requested without disproportionate effort. Over the relevant period the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force presentation teams gave the following presentations:
Royal Navy Royal Air Force 1979–80 202 110 1980–81 202 132 1981–82 228 118 1982–83 (to December 1982) 99 72 In addition between 5,000 and 6,000 schools, colleges and universities are visited each year by careers information staff from all three services. Many of these visits include presentations on career opportunities in the services, in addition to the counselling of potential applicants. The services also arrange career conventions, exhibitions and displays.
§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the total Ministry of Defence publicity budget for 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, and 1982–83;
(2) how many public relations officers and information officers are employed in his Department.
§ Mr. BlakerI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Irving) on 24 January 1983.—[Vol. 35, c.353–4.]