§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on information literature, advertising and campaign material in the financial years(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98, (d) 1998–99, (e) 1999–2000 and (f) 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [12271]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe amount spent on information literature, advertising and campaign literature by the FCO for the following financial years was:
Year £ (a) 1995–96 2,735,969 (b) 1996–97 1,848,822 (c) 1997–98 3,510,151 (d) 1998–99 2,006,633 (e) 1999–2000 1,794,344 (f) 2000–01 1,921,031 Costs from the British Council and British Trade International are not included. Advertising forms part of the cost of the FCO recruitment service. The FCO 25W has advertised 275 recruitment campaigns since 1996. Separate costs for advertising cannot be ascertained without disproportionate effort and cost. These figures include expenditure on public diplomacy, consular publicity and annual reports. Minor additional expenditure in London and overseas cannot be ascertained without disproportionate effort and cost.