To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism has spent on advertising in each year since its inception; and for what purposes. [HL301]

OSCT spend on Publicity and Advertising since its inception has been:

2007/08—No spend;

2008/09—£26,051;

2009/10 (as at 31 November)—£20,000.

This expenditure includes promoting a competition to encourage architects to incorporate counterterrorism-related safety measures into crowded places design, an open call to academia and industry for expressions of interest in taking forward work on Chemical Biological Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive subjects, and branding design work for the Olympic Security Directorate.

Some minor additional spend on external advertising for certain key posts within OSCT has occurred in 2008-09 and 2009-10 but the cost is incorporated into the attraction costs of the recruitment firms employed to manage the individual campaigns and not readily identifiable.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there have been any internal or external reports produced this year into the effectiveness of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism. [HL302]

There have been no internal or external reports produced this year into the effectiveness of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT).

However, from 2008-09, for the first time we had a dedicated public service agreement on counterterrorism. A number of indicator sets measure success against our overarching aim to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from international terrorism. These are subject to a biannual assessment by Her Majesty’s Treasury. By its nature, the PSA delivery agreement contains information about the UK counterterrorism effort that could be potentially useful to those who threaten the UK and its interests. Performance against the PSA is therefore classified.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of their counter-terrorism strategy in each year since its inception; and how much is forecast to be spent on it in future years. [HL303]

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent under the “Protect” strand of their counter-terrorism strategy in each year since its inception on (a) protecting Government buildings, and (b) protecting public places, including crowded places; and how much is forecast to be spent in future years. [HL304]

The single security and intelligence budget, which includes government spending on counterterrorism and intelligence, was announced as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. It is forecast to rise from £2.5 billion in 2008-09 to £3.5 billion in 2010-11. The new version of the United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering International Terrorism will be delivered within this envelope.

Breaking down this budget by specific counterterrorism and intelligence activities, beyond what is published already, would reveal our capabilities and details of the security and intelligence agencies’ spending. It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal these details.

The provision of counterterrorist protective security measures has long been based upon the principle that the “user pays”. However, there has been central government expenditure in respect of the “Protect” strand of the strategy and some information has been made publicly available. This includes:

£5 million for 2009-10 to support regional and local delivery of work in England and Wales to improve the protection of crowded places as set out in the Government’s consultation document “Working Together to Protect Crowded Places.”;

£2.7 million for the period 2007-08 to 2008-09 to increase the size of the National Barrier Asset; and

more than £1.5 million in 2008-09 to support additional Counter-Terrorist Security Advisers posts.