§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what promotional and public information campaigns his Department is(a) currently running and (b) planning to run during the next six months; and for each campaign (i) how much it will cost, (1) in total and (2) to his Department, (ii) what agencies or bodies are undertaking the work and (iii) what is its planned duration. [7416]
§ Mr. HowardMy Department is currently running a campaign about the illegal carrying and use of knives. An information pack containing posters and background material has been sent to all schools and further education colleges in England and Wales, police crime prevention officers—CPOs—and local newspapers. A pre-recorded radio interview was sent to 110 local radio stations. Head teachers and college principals have been invited to display the posters and to consider using the support material in student project work. CPOs will invite local retailers and others to display the posters, and will work with local media to stimulate further cover.
It is not possible to state an exact duration for the campaign because it does not use booked advertising space. Free site posters are displayed for varying lengths of time, but my Department's experience is that this can in some cases extend to several months. The total cost 2W of the campaign is £24,265. My Department funded the £20,289 production costs and the Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh Office spent between them £3,976 on distribution. Euro RSCG WNEK Gosper carried out studio work for the poster and the Central Office of Information produced and distributed the radio tape.
My Department plans to run two campaigns between January and February next year. These are:
Fire SafetyA television commercial to encourage the installation and maintenance of domestic smoke detectors: from I to 14 January. The total cost is £420,000, all to my Department. The advertising agency is Euro RSCG WNEK Gosper and media buying is undertaken by the Central Office of Information.Special Constabulary RecruitmentTelevision and local press and radio advertising to encourage volunteers: from 13 January to 8 February 1997. Total projected cost is £855,000, subject to variance of about £20,000, depending on the number of respondents requesting further information. The advertising agency is Leagas Shafron Davis and media buying is carried out by the Central Office of Information.A third campaign will run from approximately 24 to 72 hours after the announcement of the date of the next general election, depending on the period of notice given. It is designed to advise the public of absent voters' rights. The budget will depend on media mix and costs of media space at the time, but is forecast to be in the range of £457,000 to £687,000. All costs will fall to the Home Office. Duration is also dependent on the media mix, but will be no longer than three days. Electoral registration officers will carry out supporting activity to inform voters of their rights. The advertising agency is Euro RSCG WNEK Gosper, with media buying handled by the Central Office of Information.
None of the three campaigns uses promotions.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on promotional or public information campaigns in each of the last five years; and how much he estimates will be spent on these campaigns during the (i) current and (ii) next financial years. [7545]
§ Mr. HowardMy Department's spending on public information campaigns in each of the past five years and planned expenditure for the current year is set out in the table.
Plans for publicity expenditure for 1997–98 have not yet been finalised and it is therefore not possible to provide estimates.
3W
Year Advertising (£) Other information material and services 1991–92 Total 7,275,940 3,600,288 1992–93 Total 7,344,635 5,638,982 1993–94 Total 9,090,222 5,062,327
Year Advertising (£) Other information material and services 1994–95 Total 10,912,000 3,190,358 1995–96 Total 7,609,227 3,179,882 1996–97 forecast total 5,537,000 3,317,000