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29 Jun 2004 : Column 221W—continued

Departmental Advertising Costs

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department and its predecessors spent on advertising, marketing and publicity in each year since May 1997, broken down by main subject head. [180363]

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. In the financial year 2002–03 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent a total of £3,346,943 on advertising and £3,718,767 on marketing and publicity. In the financial year 2003–04 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent £4,435,533 on advertising, £639,996 on marketing, and £718,898 on publicity. In the financial year 2004–05 the amounts the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has committed to date are £2,686,974 on advertising, £235,441 on marketing and £372,759 on publicity.

Departmental Consultancy Costs

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department and its predecessors spent on external consultants and advisers in each year since May 1997, broken down by main subject head. [180365]

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1433W for the expenditure incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister since its creation in May 2002.

The value of spend for the predecessor Department, DTLR is as follows:

	£
2000–01	98,700,000
2001–02	119,022,000

These figures include spend by the former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Figures for the previous three years and a breakdown by subject head can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure (Entertainment)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of the amount spent by his Department on official entertainment in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05. [169010]

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created following the machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. The figures in the following table show how much the Office spent on official entertainment in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Details of the planned expenditure for 2004–05 are not yet available, but are expected to be on similar lines to earlier years.
 
29 Jun 2004 : Column 222W
 

Entertainment

	£
2002–03	3,350
2003–04	1,869

All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

The expenditure figures for the Government Offices and the Office's executive agencies for official entertainment are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Election Costs

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of costs of holding elections (a) by all-postal ballot and (b) by voting in person at the ballot box. [180339]

Mr. Raynsford: Estimates of the costs of holding elections by voting in person at the ballot box have been made for budgetary purposes in respect of every general election and European Parliamentary election. They have been based on accounts submitted by returning officers in respect of previous such elections. The estimated cost of conducting this year's European Parliamentary election in England and Wales was £57 million, ignoring combination with the local elections. The costs of local elections conducted by voting in person at the ballot box are a matter for local authorities, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not estimated them.

So far as all-postal elections are concerned, estimates have been made of the cost of the June 2004 combined elections in the pilot regions. The estimated cost was £23.8 million. One of the objectives of conducting all-postal pilots has been to provide a reliable basis for estimating the costs of future elections conducted on that basis.

European Structural Funds

Mr. Moore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much investment has gone into (a) the parliamentary constituency of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) Scotland from European Structural Funds since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [180958]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has responsibility for the European Regional Development Fund in England. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Scottish Executive for information relating to European Structural Funds investment in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale.

Government Office for London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost to the Government Office for London was of (a) administration and (b) disbursements of grants in each of the last five years. [180331]

Yvette Cooper: The cost of administering and disturbing grants could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
 
29 Jun 2004 : Column 223W
 

Government Office for London (GOL) Running Cost (admin) expenditure in total is as follows:

	£ million
1999–2000	16.0
2000–01	13.2
2001–02	13.2
2002–03	14.1
2003–04	16.7

Government Office for London (GOL) Programme expenditure in total is as follows:

	£ million
1999–2000	2,202
2000–01	1,605
2001–02	2,094
2002–03	2,530
2003–04	2,724

The Programme expenditure figures represent the end-year outturn for all Programmes managed by Government Office for London (GOL). In some cases grant payments are issued by the sponsor department e.g. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister but monitored by GOL. These amounts are included in the figures supplied.

Government Office for the East Midlands

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the running costs, including staff salaries, of the Government office for the East Midlands were in each year since 2001; and what the projected costs are for the next three years. [179427]

Yvette Cooper: The running costs of the Government Office for the East Midlands since 2001 have been as follows:

	£
2000–01	7,335,770
2001–02	8,200,800
2002–03	8,835,460
2003–04	10,861,000

The budgeted running costs for 2004–05 are £11,370,090.

The projected allocation for 2005–06 and for the two following years is £11,069,070 based on current information and agreed funding from all Government Office Sponsor Departments. Increased expenditure over years 2000–01 to 2004–05 reflect increases in Departmental representation in the Government Office and, in particular, the increase between years 2002–03 and 2003–04 are as a result of Home Office integration into the Government Office.

Government Office for the North-West

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people work in the Government Office for the North West; how many buildings they operate in; and whether the buildings are (a) rented and (b) owned by the Office. [180687]

 
29 Jun 2004 : Column 224W
 

Yvette Cooper: Three hundred and ninty five permanent staff work in the Government Office for the North West. 254 are located in City Tower (formerly Sunley Tower), Manchester; 92 in Cunard Building, Liverpool; and 49 staff are seconded to other organisations. Both buildings are rented by the office.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of the Government office of the North West in (a) administration and (b) disbursements of grants in each of the last three years. [180713]

Yvette Cooper: The cost of administering and disbursing grants could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Government Office for the North West (GONW) running cost (admin) expenditure in total is as follows:

	£ million
2001–02	14.5
2002–03	15.5
2003–04	16.8

Government Office for the North West (GONW) programme expenditure in total is as follows:

	£ million
2001–02	l,349
2002–03	1,425
2003–04	1,511

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