§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for her Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02. [39914]
§ Clare ShortOur budget for press office costs over the last three years has been as follows.
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£000 1999–2000 149 2000–01 117 2001–02 1132 1 to date Figures for the previous two years are not readily accessible. We do not hold separate budgets for public relations or marketing. We have an overall programme of public information work, which forms part of our effort to raise awareness and understanding of international development issues in the UK. Spending under this programme in the last five years has been as follows:
£000 1997£98 407 1998£99 683 1999£2000 880 2000£01 1,487 2001£02 11,264 1 to date Internal communications work is also, by its nature, spread across a wide range of activities and functions. However our core central system in this regard is our intranet. The annual budget for this, as well as for our wider knowledge sharing work, is expected to be around £150,000.