To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been employed in the Central Office of Information for the years 1978–79 to 1987–88.
The information requested is as follows:
| 1 January | Permanent staff in-post (including part-timers) |
| 1979 | 1,163 |
| 1980 | 1,177 |
| 1981 | 1,158 |
| 1982 | 1,071 |
| 1983 | 969 |
| 1984 | 961 |
| 1985 | 925 |
| 1986 | 878 |
| 1987 | 815 |
| 1988 | 804 |
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the rules on Government advertising under which the Central Office of Information operates.
The conventions on central Government publicity and advertising are set out in the Government's evidence submitted to the Widdicombe inquiry in 1985 and deposited in the Library of the House (published as annex D to "Local Authority Publicity: interim report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Conduct of Local Authority Business chaired by Mr. David Widdicombe QC").
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the budget for the Central Office of Information for each of the years 1978–79 to 1987–88; and how much of that budget was expended on advertising and how much on other Central Office of Information activities.
[holding answer 28 April 1988]: The information is as follows:
| Year | Total expenditure £ | Advertising expenditure £ | Other expenditure £ |
| 1978–79 | 35,400,000 | 18,800,000 | 16,600,000 |
| 1979–80 | 40,700,000 | 20,600,000 | 20,100,000 |
| 1980–81 | 45,100,000 | 20,000,000 | 25,100,000 |
| 1981–82 | 46,100,000 | 18,500,000 | 27,600,000 |
| 1982–83 | 48,300,000 | 18,800,000 | 29,500,000 |
| 1983–84 | 60,300,000 | 21,300,000 | 39,000,000 |
| 1984–85 | 64,700,000 | 21,900,000 | 42,800,000 |
| 1985–86 | 66,900,000 | 25,100,000 | 41,800,000 |
| 1986–87 | 149,800,000 | 98,500,000 | 51,300,000 |
| 1987–881 | 150,400,000 | 88,000,000 | 62,400,000 |
| 1 Figures given are an estimate. | |||