HC Deb 08 December 1997 vol 302 cc441-9W
Mr. Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for (i) 1993–94, (ii5 1994–95, (iii) 1995–96, (iv) 1996–97, (v) the 1997–98, year to date, (vi) the 1997–98 full year estimate and (vii) the 1998–99 planned expenditure. [15269]

Dr. Reid

[holding answer 11 November 1997]: Details of central MOD expenditure on publicity and advertising are contained in the annual MOD Departmental Reports. For 1993–94, the information is shown on page 39 of Cm 2801; for 1994–95, the information is shown on page 43 of Cm 3055; for 1995–96, the information is shown on page 32 of Cm 3448; and for 1996–97, the information is shown on page 49 of Cm 3781. Copies of these Reports are available in the House.

Estimated expenditure for 1997–98 is £40.97 million. We do not publish detailed future plans as approval to commit expenditure is subject to formal endorsement through Ministers and the Parliamentary supply system.

Expenditure by non-departmental public bodies for the years in question is set out below.

£
1993–94 629,262
1994–95 487,663
1995–96 456,644
1996–97 408,826
1997–98 to date 291,816
1997–98 full year 421,995
1998–99 1
1 Detailed figures not yet agreed.

Publicity expenditure for Departmental Agencies is not held centrally. I have asked Chief Executives, where appropriate, to write direct to the hon. Member.

Letter from J. R. Drew to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about how much was spent by Defence Agencies on publicity and advertising, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO). I attach a table with the appropriate breakdown of costs for 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98 year to date and the 1997–98 full year estimate. The substantial increase in 1997–98 is due to our involvement, as part of the Army's presence, in the Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition in September 1997.

Total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising for the Army Base Repair Organisation
£
1993–94 (Actual) 5,036
1994–95 (Actual) 7,618
1995–96 (Actual) 30,026
1996–97 (Actual) 37,721
1997–98 (Forecast) 176,868
Total 257,269
1997–98 (To date) 77,943

Letter from M. J. Heritage-Owen to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising on behalf of the Chief Executive of the Royal Air Force Maintenance Group Defence Agency who is away on duty, as this matter falls within his area of responsibility. The information requested, broken down by financial year, is as follows:

Financial year Total (£)
1995–96 54,460
1996–97 359,741
1997–98 (To end of October) 135,668
1997–98 (Estimated full year) 405,531
1998–99 1
1 Detailed figures not yet available. Information for FY 1993/94 and FY 1994/95 is not available in the format requested and is, therefore. not provided. Expenditure includes advertising and promotional costs. The increase since 1995/96 is due primarily to increased civilian recruiting costs resulting from the drawdown of Service manpower.
I hope this information is helpful.

Letter from David G. Wadsworth to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about recruitment and advertising expenditure, as this matter falls within my areas of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Service Children's Education Agency. The SCE Agency recruits teaching and specialist staff in UK and overseas. Details of the past, current and future recruitment advertising budget is attached at Annex A. In addition to this, each of the 56 SCE Schools around the world is required to produce a school brochure in line with the practice followed by LEA maintained schools in the UK. These brochures are used largely as information for parents. However, in a few cases they may be used to advertise the benefits of attending an SCE school, where more than one is available in a given location or where irreducible spare capacity can be offered to fee paying parents. Information on school brochure expenditure is not collected as a matter of course, as most are produced locally at very little cost. Based upon information available so far in this financial year, I would not expect the total sum to exceed £15K. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Annex A: Expenditure on all forms of recruitment advertising
£000
1993–94 1
1994–95 32
1995–96 52
1996–97 66
1997–98 (year to date) 18
1997–98 (full year estimate) 51
1998–99 (planned expenditure) 2
1 No information available.
2 Not yet finally agreed.

Letter from Peter Ewins to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising. For the Meteorological Office, this matter falls to me as Chief Executive. Expenditure by the Meteorological Office on publicity and advertising (in thousands of pounds) is estimated to be as follows:

Period Expenditure £000
1993–94 777
1994–95 758
1995–96 735
1996–97 666
1997–98 (to date) 288
1997–98 (full year estimate) 765
1998–99 (planned expenditure) 955
This should be set against income from our commercial activities as a Trading Fund, currently running at over £22 million per annum.

Letter from D. L. Burden to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question (PQ 1029i) to the Secretary of State for Defence concerning the total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising by the MOD, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, in so far as it applies to the Army Personnel Centre (APC). I should explain that the only expenditure incurred separately by my Agency which falls into these categories is related to civilian staff recruitment advertising costs during FY 1996/1997. These, inclusive of VAT, were as follows:

£
First advertisement, April 1996 3,578
Second advertisement, April 1996 1,037
Total 4.615
There is no planned expenditure of this nature for the remainder of this FY or during FY 1998/1999. I hope this is helpful.

Letter from D. J. Stevens to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising in respect of the Naval Bases and Supply Agency. This agency was launched in December 1996 and is formed from a number of management areas within the MOD. The information which you requested is not available therefore for the years prior to 1996/97. The figures requested for 1996/97 and 1997/98 are given below and cover mainly recruitment advertising and external publicity, including attendance at exhibitions, advertising our irreducible spare capacity from which we earn income. I am unable to give a figure for 1998/99 as detailed budgets have yet to be agreed.

£
1996–97 19,464
1997–98 (to date) 37,035
1997–98 (full year estimate) 48,035

Letter from T. McG. Brown to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding expenditure on publicity and advertising. As Chief Executive of the Defence Postal and Courier Services Agency (DPCSA) I am responsible for expenditure within my Agency and I am therefore providing the details you have requested. All publicity costs are for the production of our Annual Report and Accounts. In accordance with our Accounts Direction (issued by HM Treasury) and our Framework Document the Agency is obliged to present an annual report to Parliament. Some of the publicity costs shown below were incurred on my Agency's behalf by other areas of the MOD. All advertising costs are for staff recruitment.

£000
Year Publicity Advertising Total
1993–94 10.9 0.0 1,210.9
1994–95 16.9 0.0 216.9
1995–96 18.6 7.6 26.2
1996–97 23.2 6.6 29.8
1997–98 (to date) 0.7 4.2 34.9
1997–98 (year end estimate) 20.0 10.0 330.0
Detailed figures for 1998–99 are not available at present.
1 Production costs for the first Annual Report, a smaller document containing unaudited accounts, were significantly lower than for subsequent larger Annual Reports with complete audited accounts.
2 During 1993–94 and 1994–95 there were no advertising costs as staff recruitment for the Agency was the responsibility of central MOD organisations at that time.
3 Final costs for the latest Annual Report have not been finalised.
I hope this information is helpful.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Malcolm Bruce dated 8 December 1997: Thank you for your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about estimates of expenditure on publicity and advertising. I am replying on behalf of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). The following figures for graduate recruitment advertising represent the majority of expenditure in this area:

£
i.1993–94 1
ii.1994–95 888,000
iii.1995–96 1,366,000
iv.1996–97 1,392,000
v.1997–98 (to date) 1,033,000
vi.1997–98 (full year estimate) 1,570,000
vii.1998–99 (planned expenditure) 1,685,000
1 Information not available.
Other advertising and publicity costs are in the region of £200,000 per annum. This figure includes the cost of the DERA Press Office and the Annual Results Press Conference. I hope this information is helpful.

Letter from M. J. A. Smallwood to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about publicity and advertising, on behalf of the Chief Constable/Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence Police Agency, as this falls into this area of responsibility. The Chief Constable/ Chief Executive is away from the office at present. I have identified the following expenditure in respect of publicity and advertising: 1993–94 £6,572; 1994–95 £6,985; 1995–96 £36,659; 1996–97 £28,164; 1997–98 £13,775 up to 28 November 1997. I expect the final outturn for the current Financial Year to be £20,000. Spending plans for 1998–99 have not yet been finalised.

Letter from Brian Raine to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I have been asked to respond to your Question regarding all forms of publicity and advertising and give our response below. The amount spent on advertising is as follows:

  • 1993–94: £4,116
  • 1994–95: £2,100
  • 1995–96: £3,451
  • 1996–97: £6,929
  • 1997–98: £5,297 to date
  • 1997–98: £5,750 full year estimate
  • 1998–99: Details not yet agreed

Letter to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: In November you asked the Secretary of State for Defence a Parliamentary Question relating to expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising. As this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKIIO), I have been asked to reply to your direct. The information you requested is as follows

UKHO—Total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising
Financial year Amount (£)
1993–94 228,741,97
1994–95 226,396.90
1995–96 340,446.88
1996–97 323,672.13
1997–98 (to date) 239,776.25
1997–98 (full year estimate) 1494,887.15
1998–99 (planned expenditure) 687,000.00
1 Includes to date figure.
As the UKHO operates in an international commercial market, the attainment of Trading Fund status has provided the UKIIO with additional flexibility to respond to commercial activities. In the first year of operating as a Trading Fund the UKHO achieved a net profit of £3.7M which clearly demonstrates that costs are more than fully recovered by sales activities. I hope the above has been of assistance. Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch with my Office.

Letter from J.D. Coles to Mr. Malcolm Bruce dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Minister of State for the Armed Forces about the estimate of total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising, as it relates to the Ships Support Agency, for which I am responsible. The Agency was established on II December 1996 and the estimate of expenditure since that date is as follows:

£
(b)(iv) 1996–97 30,000
(b)(v) 1997–98, year to date 15,000
(b)(vi) 1997–98, full year estimate 15,000
Detailed budgets for 1998–99 have not yet been agreed. The figures relate to actual and planned expenditure associated with: Agency launch; the printing of the Agency's Framework Document, Corporate Plan, and Annual Report and Accounts; and the Agency's input to the International Maritime Defence Exhibition 1997 at the Royal Naval College Greenwich.

Letter from P. D. Foxton to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to the recent question you tabled to the Secretary of State for Defence for those matters that fall within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Army Base Storage and Distribution Agency (ABSDA). You asked about the expenditure by ABSDA on all forms of publicity and advertising for Financial Years 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97 and the year 1997–98 to date, and the 1997–98 full year estimate. For clarity I have incorporated the answer in the form of a table.

Financial Year Cost (£) Estimate(£)
1994–95 3,788 n/a
1995–96 10,379 n/a
1996–97 5,824 n/a
Financial Year Cost (£) Estimate £
1997–98 3,649 8,248
1998–99 n/a
The Agency was not formed until 1995 and therefore no expenditure is recorded for the Financial year 1993–94. I trust I have answered your questions satisfactorily.

Letter from S. R. Hill to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: 1 I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the expenditure on publicity and spending by Defence agencies as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (NARO). 2. Attached is a summary of the figures for this Agency.

Parliamentary Question—Expenditure on Publicity and Advertising by Defence Agencies
Financial year Recruitment costs (civilian)

£

PR/Marketing and business support

£

1993–94 934 988
1994–95 1,205 3,153
1995–96 1,478 0
1996–97 4,154 45,416
1997–98 (to date) 5,604 2,606
1997–98 (forecast) 11,083 15,000

The recruitment costs are for advertising.

Letter from K. A. Bradshaw to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence/Her Majesty's Government about Advertising and Publicity Costs as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of Defence Codification Agency. The Defence Codification Agency has expenditure for the years quoted as follows:

£
1996–97 38,438
1997–98 (to date) 14,525
1997–98 (forecast) 21,000
1998–99 (yet to be finalised)
For background information, the Defence Codification Agency was launched in June 1996. At that time funds were disaggregated from the Defence Information Division (DINFOD) for our Marketing function.

Letter from I. G. McIntyre to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Dental Agency. During 1996/97 my Agency spent £13,738. This figure includes the cost of the national advertising for the national advertisement for the post of Chief Executive. The spend to date in 1997/98, the current financial year, is £1,020 with the full year estimate being £2,000. Details of budgets for future years have not yet been finalised.

Letter from R. J. Mealing to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: In response to your Question, and in the unavoidable absence of the Chief Executive on business, I am writing to inform you of expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising in so far as it effects the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency. Most of the expenditure incurred on publicity and advertising by my Agency is attributable to job advertising in newspapers. The following table shows the information you have requested.

Financial year Expenditure (£)
1993–94 1
1994–95 Nil
1995–96 5,901
1996–97 24,261
1997–98 (so far) 24,650
1997–98 (estimate) 27,053
1998–99 2
1 DCTA not formed as an Agency.
2 Detailed budget not yet agreed.

Letter from Malcolm Westgate to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about advertising and publicity costs. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Disposal Sales Agency. During 1995/96 my Agency spent £6,844.37 on advertising the post of Chief Executive. All other publicity and advertising expenditure has been included in the reply given by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces.

Letter from P. R. Wildman to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive. Military Survey's expenditure on publicity and advertising since 1993 is as follows:

  • 1993–94: NIL
  • 1994–95: NIL
  • 1995–96: £16,737 Intl VAT
  • 1996–97: NIL
  • 1997–98: £18,893.07 incl VAT (to-date; none further planned)
  • 1998–99: NIL planned.
The expenditures were on recruitment advertising for civilian posts with the Agency.

Letter from M. I. Laurie to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Intelligence and Security Agency. The Agency was formed on 1 October 1996 and the figures below represent expenditure after that date:

£
(a) 1996–97 (October 96-March 97 2,686
(b) 1997–98 (to date) 5,370
(c) 1997–98 (full year estimate) 6,694
(d) 1998–99 (estimated) Nil
On its formation the Agency began a collocation programme, moving from five previous sites to one. The expenditure detailed above relates to newspaper advertising of job vacancies at the new site.

Letter from G. Jones to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising, by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, in each of the last four financial years, the current financial year to date with a full-year estimate, and that planned for 1998–99, for which figures are available, as these matters fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of the Royal Air Force Signals Engineering Establishment Defence Agency. Advertising by the Royal Air Force Signals Engineering Establishment Defence Agency has, to date, been confined to that required for the recruitment of civilian staff. We have no record of any expenditure prior to 1996–97 because most recruitment was conducted centrally. In September 1996 the Agency was delegated additional responsibility for recruitment and, as a result, the expenditure on recruitment advertising in 1996–97 was £61,685. In 1997–98 the expenditure to date has been £43,435, with a forecast for the complete year of £120,000. Expenditure for 1998–99 is expected to be similar to that for the current year, but the funding is still the subject of the 1998 Long Term Costing process.

Letter from D. D. Allan to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997: 1.I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about estimates of expenditure on publicity and advertising as this matter falls within my area of responsibility. I am replying in the absence of the Chief Executive of the Logistics Support Services Agency who is away on business. 2.Our expenditure on publicity and advertising, both actual and estimate, is detailed in the table below and the figures are exclusive of VAT.

Total
1993–94 0
1994–95 0
1995–96 0
1996–97 6,990
1997–98(spend) 5,360.08
1997–98(estimated) 8,100
1998–99 1
1 Planned figures not yet accepted.

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