To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which organisations provided media monitoring services to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years; and what the total cost was of each contract. (224953)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills’ (DIUS) media monitoring is supplied by Energy Data Service Ltd. (EDS) and the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU).

DIUS was formed on 28 June 2007 as a result of the machinery of government changes. Information on the costs of contracts for the provision of media monitoring services to DIUS is therefore only available for the current financial year.

Available figures for the annual costs of each contract are as follows:

EDS

2008/09: £26,269 (to date)

MMU

2008/09: £42,125 (annual subscription)

For much of its business, the Department operates through a number of arms length bodies including 20 non-departmental public bodies and other agencies. It is the responsibility of each body to manage its contracts and costs. Therefore the Department does not hold the information requested centrally and there would be a disproportionate cost to gather the information requested.