The £265.8 million figure represents expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising. The £391 million figure in the 2007-08 annual report is the total for all expenditure through COI, including for example costs relating to Directgov, public consultations, research, interactive services, publications and regional offices.
In 1996-97 the total expenditure through COI was £125.9 million. The expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising, unadjusted for inflation, was £81.2 million.
The majority of the increased expenditure since 1996-07 is related to campaigns for public service recruitment, health and safety and new issues such as climate change. The largest campaigns over the last year have been on Army recruitment, RAF recruitment, Act On C02, Alcohol Harm Reduction, Obesity and Road Safety.