HC Deb 18 January 2001 vol 361 cc330-3W
Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01, (i) his Department's total spending on advertising campaigns, (ii) the cost of each individual advertising campaign and (iii) the criteria that were established to gauge the effectiveness of each campaign; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each campaign based on these criteria. [142713]

Mr. Wills

The Department's total spend on advertising was:

£
1996–97 7,537,917
1997–98 9,992,350
1998–99 15,673,258
1999–2000 11,900,968
2000–011 15,166,537
1 To end of December 2000

Campaigns over £500,000 are:

1996–97
£
Modern Apprenticeships
To encourage young people and employers to sign up to Modern Apprenticeships 2,611,339
Nursery Vouchers
To ensure that eligible parents and providers understood how they were affected by the new arrangements introduced under the Nursery Voucher Scheme 1,074,646
Disability Discrimination
To inform employers about the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 664,889

1997–98
£
New Deal
To raise awareness of New Deal and to inform the public, employers and potential clients 6,409,339
National Traineeships
To encourage employers to offer National Traineeships to young people 800,000
Modern Apprenticeships
To raise awareness of Modern Apprenticeships among young people and employers 912,321
Disability Discrimination
Consultation to review the lowering of the threshold exempting small employers from the DDA's employment provisions, from 20 to 15 employees 520,995

1998–99
£
New Deal
To promote awareness of New Deal and to inform potential clients and employers, and to sign up employers 4,772,362
Reading and Literacy
To encourage parents to get more involved in their children's reading (linked to National Year of Reading) 3,648,233
Disability Discrimination
To inform employers about how the Disability Discrimination Act affects them 1,924,033

1998–99
£
National Traineeships
To encourage employers to take up National Traineeships 1,502,023
Learning Direct
Promoting the Learning Direct helpline to young people 619,026
Career Development Loans
To encourage young people to take out CDLs to improve their career prospects 603,590
Millennium Bug Busters
To promote to employers training on how to prepare for the Millennium Bug 585,101

1999–2000
£
Disability Discrimination
To challenge the general public to change their attitude to disability and to inform employers about the Disability Discrimination Act 2,643,160
Maths Year 2000
To encourage parents to help with their children's maths (linked to Maths Year 2000) 2,322,336
Age Diversity
To address age discrimination in recruitment and employment practice 1,127,946
National Traineeships
To encourage young people to take up National Traineeships 1,077,300
One
To promote the launch of the One scheme in 12 pilot areas 872,807
Childcare Link
To promote a helpline telling parents what childcare options are available in their area 809,592
Time Off for Study
To inform employers of their legal responsibilities under the Right to Time Off for Study Act 702,001

2000–011
£
Don't Quit Now
To raise awareness of the benefits of staying in some form of learning after reaching the age of compulsory education 2,700,000
New Deal 50 plus
To increase participation in New Deal 50 plus 2,399,779
ICT Employability
To encourage those out of work to take up taster courses in ICT 2,011,305
Childcare Recruitment
To encourage recruitment into the childcare sectors by young people and returners 1,820,608
Disability Discrimination
To tell SME service providers how aspects of the Disability Discrimination Act affect them 1,241,982

2000–011
£
Modern Apprenticeships
To promote the availability of Modern Apprenticeships 855,595
Individual Learning Accounts
To encourage people to take up Individual Learning Accounts to improve their career prospects 611,767
Fast Track Teachers
To inform potential recruits about the fast-track teachers scheme 1,055,788
Parents' Magazine
To promote a magazine which helps parents to get more involved in their children's education 1,483,660
1 To end of December 2000

Detailed evaluation criteria are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost. However, every campaign is measured vigorously against specific communication objectives using pre- and post-campaign research, conducted by independent research companies, to record shifts in awareness, attitudes, knowledge or behaviour among the target audience(s).

The Department employs tracking research to monitor these shifts over time and typically conducts telephone surveys of respondents to advertising campaigns to monitor satisfaction with the services offered and actions taken as a result of the campaign. It routinely tests the likely effectiveness of different creative approaches on the target audience(s) through market research, as part of the development of advertising campaigns. Lessons learned from previous campaigns are used to inform future ones.