To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of advertising commissioned by his Department in the last 12 months. (148506)

The Treasury's only advertising in the last 12 months has been for the purpose of staff recruitment. Posts are only advertised externally where suitable candidates are not expected to be available internally.

The Treasury takes advice from its contracted advertising agency for the most suitable media for each job. The contract was awarded in April 2007 following a competitive tender via the Catalist Framework.

The media used are regularly reviewed for their effectiveness in terms of the quality and quantity of applications generated.