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East of England Development Agency: Public Relations

Volume 508: debated on Monday 22 March 2010

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments the East of England Development Agency has made to Fishburn Hedges in each of the last three years; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made. (302302)

Fishburn Hedges have provided support to EEDA with a wide range of communications and public relations support including specific public affairs services. This support includes high-level advice, legislative and policy updates, a parliamentary monitoring service, information, briefings and writing support, support on political visits and events, and parliamentary procedures. EEDA does not have sufficient capacity in house to manage all these areas of expertise. Total payments made to Fishburn Hedges in each of the last years are as follows:

£

2007

222,570.74

2008

73,285.76

2009 (to date)

90,942.28

Note: These figures are inclusive of VAT.

2007

Date

Amount (£)

Purpose

2 January 2007

2,032.88

Destination Growth 2007 Planning and Development

16 January 2007

2,321.72

Cut Your Carbon Campaign Development

5 March 2007

25,819.39

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

5 April 2007

32,988.69

Month Monitoring Service and Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

13 April 2007

3,429.36

Month Monitoring Service and Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

16 April 2007

10,071.81

Public Affairs Strategy Development

5 April 2007

24,866.33

Event

5 April 2007

35,345.13

Essays—Development and Copywriting

5 April 2007

42,122.86

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

4 June 2007

10,904.34

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

31 July 2007

5,461.86

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

17 July 2007

5,439.13

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

4 September 2007

5,421.61

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

24 September 2007

5,582.71

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

2 November 2007

5,422.78

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

17 December 2007

5,340.14

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

2008

Date

Amount (£)

Purpose

28 January 2008

5,324.90

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

29 February 2008

5,287.50

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

19 March 2008

5,287.50

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

28 March 2008

12,382.46

Month Monitoring Service and Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

9 May 2008

5,455.78

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

16 June 2008

5,352.13

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

14 July 2008

5,304.36

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

6 August 2008

5,364.99

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

15 September 2008

5,449.85

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

20 November 2008

4,012.43

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

20 November 2008

14,063.86

Month Monitoring Service and Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

2009

Date

Amount (£)

Purpose

16 February 2009

21,423.64

Month Monitoring Service and Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

30 March 2009

10,940.92

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

28 April 2009

10,892.19

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

1 May 2009

11,891.00

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

8 July 2009

6,234.55

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

19 August 2009

11,853.07

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

3 September 2009

5,855.74

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

19 October 2009

5,879.79

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

4 November 2009

5,971.38

Public Affairs Contract Consultancy

Notes:

There have been three contractual arrangements between the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and Fishburn Hedges since 2006 (the period to which the question relates). The following documents will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Contract 2006062—Public Affairs contract

This contract was for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 August 2006. It was an extension of a previous arrangement, under contract reference number 04/57, which ran from November 2004 to March 2006.

This document has been modified only:

(a) to protect individuals' personal data; and

(b) to remove information relating to EEDA's internal processes. This information is commercially sensitive, in that it relates to EEDA's general approach to procurement strategy and supplier selection, and disclosure would not be in the public interest, as it would undermine the ability of EEDA to effectively conduct future procurement activities, and to achieve effective use of public money.

Contract 2006079

This is the contract agreement for the multi-disciplinary marketing support call off contract that lasted for two years up to November 2008. This document has been amended to remove the specific daily rate referred to in paragraph 3. Please take the following into account:

The amount of the daily rate in offer letter has been removed because it is information that is still of commercial significance to the contractor and to which a duty of confidentiality applies.

The contractor's Proposal (Attachment 1) has not been supplied. This document contains:

i. the personal data of individuals

ii. information relating to projects carried out by third parties, and

iii. information on the commercial and business method and interests of the contractor which retain commercial sensitivity and are subject to a duty of confidentiality

The list of key personnel (Appendix D) has not been supplied because it contains the personal data of individuals.

Contract 2006084—Public Affairs

This is a public affairs call-off contract.

Two documents relate to this contract.

The first is the original contract. It has been amended to remove the specific daily rate referred to in paragraph 3.

The amount of the daily rate in offer letter has been removed because it is information that is still of commercial significance to the contractor and to which a duty of confidentiality applies.

The contractor's Proposal (Attachment 1) has not been supplied. This document contains:

i. the personal data of individuals

ii. information relating to projects carried out by third parties, and

iii. information on the commercial and business method and interests of the contractor which retain commercial sensitivity and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

The list of Key Personnel (Appendix D) has not been supplied because it contains the personal data of individuals.

A second document extends the length of the contract noted above. It has not been modified.