§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the publicity and advertising campaigns run by her Department in each of the last four years, specifying the(a) purpose,(b) cost to public funds,(c) number of staff involved and (d) method of evaluation in each case. [39092]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Department's total spend on advertising was:
£ 1999–99 15,673,000 1999–2000 11,901,000 2000–01 29,110,000 2001–021 17,665,000 1 Year to date. Campaigns over £500,000 are:
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Campaign Details £ 2001–021 Childcare Recruitment To encourage recruitment into the child care sectors by young people and returners 2,504,400 Foundation Degree To promote Foundation Degrees 667,000 New Deal 25+ To increase participation in New Deal 25+ 633,000 Excellence Challenge To widen participation of young people in higher education 1,750,000 Science Year 2001–02 To encourage more interest in science among young people 1,803,000 Adult Basic Skills 'Get On' To encourage adults to improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills 4,597,000 Parents' Magazine To promote a magazine which helps parents to get more involved in their children's education 770,000 Fast Track Teachers To inform potential recruits about the fast-track teachers scheme 1,250,000 Millennium Volunteers To encourage young people from 16 to 24 to become involved in volunteering activities 848,000 Foundation Degree (new terms) To provide information on the new terms of the Foundation Degree 658,000 Get On—Adult Basic Skills To encourage adults to improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills 1,820,000 Modern Apprenticeships To promote the availability of Modern apprenticeships 1,670,000 1 Year to date. It is not possible, except at disproportionate expense, to provide a detailed breakdown of the number of staff working on each campaign.
The Department runs a number of campaigns in support of our key delivery priorities, in order to inform our target audiences of how they are affected by our policies. All of our campaigns follow the guidelines which govern Government information on issues of propriety and cost.
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.