HC Deb 01 March 2002 vol 380 cc1574-8W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the expenditure of her(a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on newspaper advertising by title in each year since 1997. [26978]

Ms Hewitt

Expenditure on press advertising through COI is as follows:

Subject area £
1997–98
Import Licence Announcements 57,075
Export Licence Announcements 5,749
Languages for Export 21,165
Queen's Awards 66,258
Miscellaneous 157,377
Business Links 1,258,122
IT For All 357,451
Total 1,923,197

Subject area £
1998–99
Import Licence Announcements 47,891
Queen's Awards 94,148
Export Licence Announcements 7,208
Firework Safety 49,800
Working Time Regulations 599,995
Business Links 432,585
Trade UK 7,068
Languages for Export 7,013
National Minimum Wage 752,764
Total 1,998,472
1999–2000
Miners' Compensation 149,940
Metrication 19,311
Information Society Initiative 439,757
Queen's Awards 47,883
Export Website Awareness 16,191
Export USA 2,436
National Minimum Wage 15,476
Import Licence Announcements 57,358
Export Licence Announcements 14,081
Foresight 52,614
Miscellaneous 14,388
Total 829,435
2000–01
Miscellaneous 4,606
National Minimum Wage 963,552
Import Licence Announcements 45,470
Export Licence Announcements 17,214
Small Business Service 84,647
Distance Selling 16,366
Queen's Awards for Enterprise 43,542
Miners' Compensation 134,674
UK Online for Business 1,233,442
Smart Awards 138,128
Paid Annual Leave 1,179,543
Small Business Service—Business Link 589,878
Total 4,451,062
2001–02 (to date)
Business Links 313,046
Quality Mark Scheme 464,037
Queen's Award for Enterprise 15,056
National Minimum Wage 310,020
UK Online for Business 288,872
UK Online for Business (Supplement Advertising) 387,257
Business Link Foot and Mouth 130,111
Export Licence Announcements 6,240
Import Licence Announcements 37,556
Total 1,952,195

All figures exclude VAT.

British Trade International, which brings together international trade and investment support previously led by DTI and FCO, has spent £911,530 through COI on press advertising for Trade Partners UK in 2000–01.

Each campaign may use national and regional media. The target audience and information to be conveyed influences the choice of media used. For national campaigns a mix of broadsheets and tabloids is frequently used. For regional advertising, space has been taken in many prominent regional newspapers as well as hundreds of more local papers and the specialist press.

A breakdown of expenditure by title could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Information of this kind on NDPBs is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

I have asked each of Chief Executives of the Agencies of reply to the hon. Member.

Letter from Alison Brimelow to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: I am replying to this parliamentary question, tabled on 10 January 2001, about expenditure on newspaper advertising each year since 1997. Patent Office expenditure on newspaper advertising during this period relates mainly to annual recruitment exercises for patent examiners. The total expenditure by year is as follows:

  • 1997–98: £32,604
  • 1998–99: £46,482
  • 1999–2000: £12,880
  • 2000–01: £37,543
A full breakdown by newspaper title is attached

Newspaper Advertising
£
1997–98
Cardiff Advertiser 306.00
Guardian Media Group 4,415.50
Telegraph Group 7,520.00
Western Mail/South Wales Echo 7,868.28
South Wales Argus 5,863.56
Bristol Evening Post/Bath Chronicle/Western Daily Press 2,651.56
Total 1997–98 32,604.56
1998–99
Birmingham Post 385.00
Cardiff Advertiser 503.00
Guardian Media Group 3,950.00
Professional Engineering 1,250.00
Telegraph Group 19,700.00
Western Mail/South Wales Echo 11,182.81
South Wales Argus 4,044.80
Bristol Evening Post/Bath Chronicle/Western Daily Press 2,651.56
South Wales Evening Post 2,815.80
Total 1998–99 46,482.97
1999–2000
Cardiff Advertiser 156.00
Guardian Group 3,715.00
Midland Independent Newspapers 246.00
The Times 900.00
Telegraph Group 5,860.00
Western Mail 752.00
South Wales Argus 1,251.18
Total 1999–2000 12,880.18

Newspaper Advertising
£
2000–01
Cardiff Advertiser 431.00
Guardian Media Group 2,380.00
Telegraph Group 13,850.00
Western Mail 10,160.12
South Wales Argus 7,035.50
Bristol Evening Post/Bath Chronicle/Western Daily Press 3,686.40
Total 2000–01 37,543.02

Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply in relation to the Insolvency Service Agency to your question about expenditure on newspaper advertising by title for each year since 1997. The vast bulk of expenditure by the Insolvency Service on newspaper advertising relates to staff recruitment with the cost of such advertising being aggregated with other recruitment costs. An analysis of expenditure so far this financial year shows that the Service has spent a total of £15,868 on recruitment advertising but it would not be possible to break that figure down by title other than at disproportionate cost. Similarly, an analysis of earlier years to produce such aggregated information could, again, only be produced at disproportionate cost. In addition to recruitment advertising I can tell you that, in October 2001, the Insolvency Service placed advertisements in The Lawyer and the Solicitor's Journal seeking expressions of interest for the provision of legal services. The cost of that advertising was £1,380 and £260 respectively.

Letter from David Hendon to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to your two Questions about expenditure on newspaper advertising, and on opinion polling, focus groups and other forms of market research. The information for the Radiocommunications Agency for the periods in question is as follows:

£
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01
Newspaper Advertising n/a 108,997 84,948 253,058
Opinion polling 0 0 0 0
Focus groups 0 1,500 2,500 2,500
Market research 29,023 0 0 282,719

We do not have readily available figures for our newspaper advertising costs on 1997–98. However I would estimate these to be in line with the two following years. You also asked for details on surveys we have commissioned. The market research expenditure in 1997–98 concerned a survey of the views of our customers. The expenditure in 2000–01 concerned a survey on external communications, and a series of surveys to determine the value of the radio spectrum.

Leter from John Holden to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: I have been asked to reply to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in respect of Companies House Executive Agency. Figures for newspaper advertising for year-to-date 2001/2, for 2000/1 and 1999/2000 are respectively £63k, £126k and £122k. Figures for earlier years could only be segregated at disproportionate cost. However, our response to Parliamentary Question 2000/939 gave aggregate figures for earlier years for newspaper advertising and other promotional campaigns.

Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: You tabled a Parliamentary Question on 10 January 2002 to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, concerning what expenditure had been incurred on newspaper advertising, by title, for each year since 1997 in the department and executive agencies. I have been asked to reply in respect of the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS), which is an executive agency of the DTI. The ETS have incurred no expenditure on promotional newspaper advertising in the period under examination. Expenditure has been incurred in advertising local job vacancies around Great Britain as well as occasional notices in relation to individual or test tribunal cases, but individual records of such expenditure are not kept.

Letter from Mr. lain MacGregor to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of NWML to your question regarding expenditure on newspaper advertising by DTI and its Agencies, for each year since 1997.

The figures for NWML are as follows:

Nil for each of the years

Letter from David Irwin to Mr. John Bercow, dated 1 March 2002: Further to your Parliamentary Question 2001/2115 about the expenditure on newspaper advertising, I can report as follows:

  • 2001–1:£548,878—excluding VAT
  • 2001–2: £284,393—excluding VAT

The Small Business Service only came into existence at the beginning of April 2000 so previous years are not applicable.