To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Standards Board for England has incurred expenditure on external public relations companies in the last 18 months. (290661)

Out of their budget of £8.2 million for 2008-09 and £7.4 million for 2009-10, which we have provided for the Standards Board for England, the Board spent £416,000 in 2008-09 and plans to spend £325,000 in 2009-10 on external public relations, including outsourcing the production of guidance and training materials for local authorities and the organisation of its Annual Assembly of Standards Committees.