To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to her Department was of the directgov advertising campaign, Go DirectGov. (310280)

The cost of production and airtime purchased to date combined is £2.05 million.

Directgov has the potential to enable government to make substantial savings in shifting from traditional to digital channels. For those savings to be realised, it is vital that the public are aware of and trust Directgov as the Government's official website. The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness so that Directgov is the first site people think of for Government information, and one which they both trust and recommend to others.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on the production of the directgov advertisement Go DirectGov; and how much it expects to spend on purchasing television airtime for the advertisement. (310281)

The cost of production and airtime purchased to date combined is £2.05 million. Unfortunately we cannot detail the specific costs of airtime and the production of the advertisement as this would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Directgov by weakening our bargaining position with media suppliers and also weakening our position in a competitive environment by revealing market-sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to competitors.

Directgov has the potential to enable Government to make substantial savings in shifting from traditional to digital channels. For those savings to be realised, it is vital that the public are aware of and trust Directgov as the Government’s official website. The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness so that Directgov is the first site people think of for government information, and one which they both trust and recommend to others.