§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on advertising by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will give a breakdown of the largest items of expenditure in each year. [37607]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 20 February 2002]: Major advertising campaigns commissioned by the Communications Directorate are in the table as follows.
§ Ms BlearsI refer the hon. Member to an answer I gave the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) today, which listed, with costs the major advertising campaigns run by the Department for the period in question.
The table shows the purpose and method of evaluation for each campaign.
1009W
Campaign and purpose Evaluation Mind Out Campaign to reduce the stigma associated with all those with mental health problems Quality and quantity of editorial coverage generated; assessment of attitude shifts identified by key campaign partners NHS including nurse recruitment To encourage new recruits to apply for training in nursing and other professions in the NHS and those who are qualified and have left to return to the NHS Volume and analysis of helpline response. Pre and post campaign tracking, analysis of volume and quality of recruitment and retention related editorial. Returner recruitment assessed through report from regional offices NHS Direct Promotion of 24-hour nurse led health advice telephone service Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and number of calls to helpline Organ donation To encourage more people to enlist on the Organ Donor Register Pre and post campaign tracking research of advertising campaign and calls to the Organ Donation Literature Line Prescription fraud Advertising, publications and helpline to inform service providers and users about the new penalty charges enforced for fraudulent claims for free or reduced costs of treatment Analysis of helpline response Preventing teenage pregnancy National campaign aimed at halving the rate of teenage conceptions among under——18s by 2010 and lower the incidence of STIs among 13 to 18——year——olds Pre and post advertising tracking research, calls to Sexwise helpline and visits to the related websites Adult sexual health To decrease the rates of sexually transmitted infections among 18 to 30——year——olds and raise awareness and understanding, providing information so people can make informed choices about their own sexual health Analysis of calls to helpline, visits to related website and some pre and post advertising tracking research Social work recruitment National advertising and marketing campaign to encourage applications to be a social worker Volume and analysis of helpline response, qualitative and quantitative analysis of recruitment related editorial generated. In the long term assessment of impact on the number of applications Smoking2 To encourage smokers to give up smoking Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and calls to the NHS Smoking Helpline Walk in centres To raise awareness of a new health care choice Number of visitors to centres measured constantly to track changes. Patients asked how they found out about the service on arrival at centres. Street poll of 5,000 patients outside four NHS walk in centres to discover views on service conducted 2000–01 Winter To encourage the general public to make appropriate use of NHS services and other sources of health advice including NHS Direct Pre and post tracking research of advertising campaign and number of calls to NHS Direct 1The National Blood Authority (NBA) took over full responsibility of this campaign on 1 April 2000. 2Prior to 1999–2000 advertising on smoking was undertaken by the Health Education Authority. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of staff by each individual campaign. However the numbers of staff employed in the project management of advertising campaigns and publicity campaigns on 1 January each year are as follows:
- 1 January 1999: 15
- 1 January 2000: 21
- 1 January 2001: 281
- 1 January 2002: 31.
1The Department took on direct control for a number of public health campaigns including Smoking Cessation with the closure of the Health Education Authority on 31 March 2000.