HC Deb 14 January 2004 vol 416 cc810-3W
Miss Kirkbride

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by(a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997. [145809]

Ruth Kelly

Available information concerning recruitment advertising costs is given in the tables. HM Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and the Office for National Statistics delegate much of their recruitment to their various business elements. In consequence, only limited information is available.

A breakdown of all publications used could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The departments and agencies responsible to the Chancellor of the Exchequer use a wide variety of different publications for recruitment advertising, tailored according to the nature of the vacancy to be filled. This includes the use of professional journals and magazines, national and local newspapers, and websites.

HM Treasury

Information for the financial years 1997–2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Recruitment advertising costs for the most recent financial years are as follows:

Financial year Cost (£)1
2002–03 2126,238
2003–04 to date 3173,279
1excluding VAT
2This does not include the advertising costs for two posts for which figures were unavailable.
3 This includes advertisements for two 'bulk' recruitment campaigns which were used to fill a number of posts, and advertisements for three roles at a senior level.

HM Customs and Excise

Customs and Excise delegate much of their recruitment to their various business areas. Information held centrally is limited, and therefore data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Debt Management Office
Financial year Cost (£)1
1998–992 23,950.03
1999–2000 62,895.42
2000–01 101,731.50
2001–02 31,840.15
2002–03 20,790.45
2003–04 to date 65,445.74
1including VAT
2 The DMO was only established on 1 April 1998 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.

The Government Actuary's Department

Information for 1997 to 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information for the financial years since 2001 is as follows:

Financial year Cost(£)1
2001-–02 27,083.75
2002–03 16,614.50
2003–04 to date 22,993.58
1including VAT

Inland Revenue

The amount spent on press advertising by the Inland Revenue from April 1997 to March 2003 (the last full financial year for which figures are available) was £4.2 million. The figure for the last full year (2002–03) was £1.3 million. A breakdown of all costs since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the vast majority of Inland Revenue recruitment advertising appears in local or regional newspapers

National Savings and Investments

Since January 2003, National Savings and Investments has spent £92,874 on recruitment advertising exclusive of VAT. Costs for previous financial years are as follows:

Financial year Cost(£)1
1997–98 5,345
1998–99 32,711
1999–2000 166,731
2000–01 153,243
2001–02 205,878
2002–03 116,778
1excluding VAT

Office of Government Commerce

The following costs cover the period from April 2000 when OGC was first established to December 2003. Due to the merger of three ledger systems it has not been possible to disaggregate the April 2000 to March 2001 figures.

Spend on recruitment advertising since formation of OGC in April 2000.

Financial year Cost(£)1
From April 2000–1 2191,566.13
2002–03 351,576.74
2003–04 to date 280,009.06
1including VAT
2OGC was only established in April 2000 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.

OGC Buying Solutions
Financial year Cost(£)1
From April 2000–1 273,231
2002–03 82,670
2003–04 to date 60,933
1including VAT
2OGC was only established in April 2000 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.

Office for National Statistics

Recruitment is carried out across several sites, and therefore information held centrally is limited. The data could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Royal Mint

Advertising expenditure 1997–2003
1997–98 39,070.60
1998–99 53,355.87
1999–2000 64.292.58
2000–01 61,255.66
2001–02 15,375.30
2002–03 17,620.21
2003–04 to date 32,805.44
1excluding VAT

Valuation Office Agency

Advertising expenditure 1997–2003
Financial year Cost(£)
1997–98 113,308.71
1998– 120,637.36
1999–2000 130,089.83
2000–01 136,181.67
2001–02 147,372.60
2002–03 2,3120,649.41
2003 to date 2154,814.20
1excluding VAT
2including VAT
3VOA accounting practices were changed to include VAT with effect from financial year 2002–03 onwards.