§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy which public relations firms his Department has employed and at what cost, for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. ParkinsonApart from the special circumstances of privatisation work, the consistent practice of successive Governments has been to avoid the use of public relations firms or other companies outside Government for public relations work.
My Department has used the following companies in connection with privatisation:
- Charles Barker in 1982 for Britoil
- Streets Financial in 1983 for Enterprise Oil
391 - Dewe Rogerson in 1985 for British Gas.
In addition, I appointed Lowe Bell Communications in 1988, jointly with the area boards, and Valin Pollen International in 1989, jointly with the CEGB, to draw up marketing strategies for the offers for sale of the electricity distribution companies and generating companies respectively.
The amounts paid are commercially confidential.