asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much money was spent in each of the last four financial years on advertising by the electricity board and the gas board, respectively; and what is the estimated additional revenue raised by this advertising.

The British Gas Corporation's Annual Reports and Accounts show expenditure under the general heading "Publicity, Displays and Exhibitions" as follows:

1975–76	…	…	£7·6 million
1974–75	…	…	£7·5 million
1973–74	…	…	£6·1 million
1972–73	…	…	£6·4 million

Area electricity boards in England and Wales undertake their own publicity in addition to that arranged by the Electricity Council. The expenditure shown in the Council's Annual Statements of Accounts and Statistics under the heading "Publicity, Exhibitions etc." was:

		Electricity Council £m.	Area Boards £m.	Total £m.
1975–76	…	1·234	7·432	8·667
1974–75	…	0·989	5·927	6·916
1973–74	…	0·729	5·513	6·242
1972–73	…	0·693	5·837	6·530

A significant amount of these expenditures is for general information purposes or directed to energy conservation. The effect of advertising on revenue cannot be estimated.