§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total amount spent(a) by her Department and (b) within each regional health authority on press and public relations in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 25 May 1993]: Functions which are commonly associated with press and public relations are carried out by the Department's information division. Manpower and running costs of this division are:
£ million 1989–90 0.890 1990–91 1.250 1991–92 1.491 The information available for health authorities is shown in the table.
Expenditure on public relations Region 1989–90 £ (cash) 1990–91 £ (cash) 1991–92 £ (cash) Northern 231,062 392,407 338,150 Yorkshire 157,420 170,155 469,365 Trent 232,036 227,885 185,562 East Anglian 85,856 127,631 88,311 North West Thames 526,049 229,383 121,680 North East Thames 291,673 506,357 477,689 South East Thames 347,031 409,571 273,236 South West Thames 352,965 708,243 337,947 Wessex 227,043 345,591 344,938 Oxford 130,318 145,891 292,508 South Western 97,626 203,291 373,830 West Midlands 562,075 414,941 255,320 Mersey 129,301 254,705 200,366 North Western 196,722 320,258 164,425 Source: Annual accounts (1989–90/1990–91) and annual financial returns (1991–92) of regional and district health authorities in England.
Notes:
1. The figures represent the pay and other costs of public relations departments. This expenditure is incurred mainly by regional health authorities although each regional total includes some expenditure by district health authorities.
2. The figures for 1991–92 are provisional. They exclude expenditure incurred by first wave NHS Trusts from which equivalent information was not collected centrally.