§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of the total real terms expenditure of her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on publicity in each of the years(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01 and (e) 2001–02 (i) to date and (ii) as estimated for the whole of the present year; and if she will break these figures down to indicate expenditure on (A) advertising and (B) press and public relations. [36156]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 25 February 2002]: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, keeps no separate figures for expenditure on publicity but the sums involved are minimal.
Crown Prosecution Service
The total real terms expenditure by the Crown Prosecution Service on publicity broken down by (A) advertising and (B) press and public relations for each of the years (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01, and (e) 2001–02 (i) to date and (ii) as estimated for the whole of the present year is as follows:
882W
£ 1997–98 Advertising 83,000 Press and public relations 59,000 Total 142,000 1998–99 Advertising 101,000 Press and public relations 108,000 Total 209,000 1999–2000 Advertising 105,000 Press and public relations 179,000 Total 284,000 2000–01 Advertising 195,000 Press and public relations Total 109,000 Total 304,000 2001–02 (to date) Advertising 566,000 Press and public relations 140,000 Total 706,000 2001–02 (estimated for whole year) Advertising 688,000 Press and public relations 168,000 Total 856,000 Responsibility for advertising expenditure rests with local managers in CPS areas and functional managers in CPS headquarters.
Responsibility for expenditure on press and public relations rests with the Head of Communications Division with budget approval by the CPS board. Expenditure is primarily associated with promotional material for distribution at recruitment fairs and conferences and to raise the profile in local communities.
Advertising expenditure is restricted to recruitment of new staff. The marked increase in expenditure in the current year is a result of additional investment in the CPS from SR2000 and a nationwide recruitment drive to achieve the target in 'The Way Ahead', of employing 300 extra lawyers by 2004.
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The expenditure on advertising and publicity by the Treasury Solicitor's Department in the last four years is as follows:
£ 1997–98 Advertising 40,196 Press and public relations 33,376 Total 73,572 1998–99 Advertising 20,177 Press and public relations 44,364 Total 64,541 1999–2000 Advertising 12,021 Press and public relations 6,401 Total 18,422 2000–01 Advertising 68,647 Press and public relations 19,611 Total 88,258 2001–02 (to date) Advertising 72,310 Press and public relations 20,250 Total 92,560 Expenditure on advertising by the Treasury Solicitor's Department is directly related to the recruitment of lawyers to the Government Legal Service (GLS) and administrative staff.
Publicity costs cover GLS representation at careers fairs, printing and publication of the GLS Journal and printing and publication of annual reports and departmental reports.
In addition the Bona Vacantia division of the Treasury Solicitor's Department regularly places advertisements in the press seeking kin in cases where individuals have died intestate with no apparent claimants to the estate under administration. Over the period in question the real terms expenditure has been as follows:
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£ 1997–98 173,576 1998–99 149,273 1999–2000 189,868 2000–01 189,805 2001–021 192,800 1 To date Serious Fraud Office
The Serious Fraud Office is a small department with no agencies or non-departmental bodies. It has a press office capability which is small in relation to its high public profile, achieving good value at a reasonable cost. The Serious Fraud Office does not run advertising campaigns.
Expenditure on publicity by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last four years was as follows:
Actual £ Real terms1 £ Growth (per cent.) 1997–98 171,565 171,565 0 1998–99 144,637 140,704 -17.99 1999–2000 128,900 122,440 -28.63 2000–01 172,184 160,718 -6.32 2001–022 177,918 162,020 -5.56 2001–023 200,000 182,129 6.16 1 GDP deflator. 2 To date. 3 Estimated for whole year. The above figures represent direct costs including staff salaries and publications relating to press and public relations for the Serious Fraud Office.