§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many(a) paid and (b) unpaid publicity projects hav been organised by his Department's information directorate since April 1992; what evaluation has been made of the effectiveness of the publicity projects; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. BaldryFrom April 1992 to the present, my Department's information directorate has carried out 717 paid publicity projects. For the most part, unpaid publicity activities are undertaken to support paid publicity activities. During the same period, 1,016 press notices were issued on matters of public interest.
Information is always gathered on the takeup of all publicity materials by the public—particularly of publications—as part of the overall communications strategy for every publicity project. Research is carried out regularly to monitor the effectiveness of paid publicity initiatives, particularly in the case of large, long-term projects.