HC Deb 18 March 2002 vol 382 cc65-6W
Mr. Andrew Turner

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for his Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02. [39920]

Dr. Moonie

Details on central Ministry of Defence expenditure on advertising and publicity, which incorporates press, public relations, marketing and internal communications are contained in the annual MOD performance reports. For 1997–98, the information is shown on page 49 Cm 4170; for 1999–2000 the information is shown on page 60 Cm 5000; for 2000–01 the information is shown on page 68 Cm 5290.

Copies of these reports are available in the House.

The figures for 1998–99 were not provided in the annual performance report. They are as follows:

£ million
Category Expenditure
Recruitment
Royal Navy/Royal Fleet Auxiliary 6.65
Army 11.77
Royal Air Force 10.17
Civilian 3.27
PR, marketing, and business support services 0.84
Chief of public relations expenditure 2.39
Sales promotion 1.06
Scholarships 0.38
National Employers Liaison Committee1
1 Territorial Army

The expenditure for advertising and publicity is spread among many different budgets, and budget holders. The Ministry of Defence thus does not have a central advertising and publicity budget, and forecast information—in this case for financial year 2001–02—can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as in recent years, information on the outturn figure is collated, and expected to be included in the 2001–02 performance report, when that document is published.

The figures relate to programme expenditure. Running cost data (e.g. staff salary costs) for the subject headings are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, running cost data are available for the Chief of Public Relations expenditure heading—which covers the cost of Director General Corporate Communications and his staff. These figures are as follows:

£ million
Year Expenditure
1997–98 n/a
1998–99 13.77
1999–2000 14.03
2000–01 5.92
2001–02 26.30
1 Allocation
2 Forecast expenditure

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