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Written Question
Scotland Office: Advertising
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much (a) his Department, (b) the Union Unit, and (c) the Union Taskforce spent on advertising in each financial year since 2010-11; and how much is budgeted for that purpose for each of those groups for 2021-22.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The Office keeps financial information for seven financial years, so available information only extends to 2013-14.

The Office’s annual expenditure on all advertising, including paid-for promotion on digital platforms including social media promotion, and paid-for listings in search results was as follows:

Financial Year

Social Media Promotion

Paid-for listings in search results

Total expenditure on advertising

2013-2014

Nil

Nil

Nil

2014-2015

Nil

Nil

Nil

2015-2016

£371

Nil

£371

2016-2017

£15,956

Nil

£15,956

2017-2018

£22,829

£1,647

£24,476

2018-2019

£46,217

£11,829

£58,046

2019-2020

£36,704

Nil

£36,704

The Office does not hold information on budget allocations for 2021/22 at this time.

The Office does not hold figures for the Union Unit or Union Taskforce.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Social Media
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much (a) his Department, (b) the Union Unit, and (c) the Union Taskforce spent on paid-for social media advertising and promotion in each financial year since 2010-11; and how much is budgeted for that purpose for each of those groups for 2021-22.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The Office keeps financial information for seven financial years, so available information only extends to 2013-14.

The Office’s annual expenditure on all advertising, including paid-for promotion on digital platforms including social media promotion, and paid-for listings in search results was as follows:

Financial Year

Social Media Promotion

Paid-for listings in search results

Total expenditure on advertising

2013-2014

Nil

Nil

Nil

2014-2015

Nil

Nil

Nil

2015-2016

£371

Nil

£371

2016-2017

£15,956

Nil

£15,956

2017-2018

£22,829

£1,647

£24,476

2018-2019

£46,217

£11,829

£58,046

2019-2020

£36,704

Nil

£36,704

The Office does not hold information on budget allocations for 2021/22 at this time.

The Office does not hold figures for the Union Unit or Union Taskforce.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Internet
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much (a) his Department, (b) the Union Unit, and (c) the Union Taskforce spent on paid-for listing in search results in each financial year since 2010-11; and how much is budgeted for that purpose for each of those groups for 2021-22.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The Office keeps financial information for seven financial years, so available information only extends to 2013-14.

The Office’s annual expenditure on all advertising, including paid-for promotion on digital platforms including social media promotion, and paid-for listings in search results was as follows:

Financial Year

Social Media Promotion

Paid-for listings in search results

Total expenditure on advertising

2013-2014

Nil

Nil

Nil

2014-2015

Nil

Nil

Nil

2015-2016

£371

Nil

£371

2016-2017

£15,956

Nil

£15,956

2017-2018

£22,829

£1,647

£24,476

2018-2019

£46,217

£11,829

£58,046

2019-2020

£36,704

Nil

£36,704

The Office does not hold information on budget allocations for 2021/22 at this time.

The Office does not hold figures for the Union Unit or Union Taskforce.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Communication
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of people employed in his Department in each financial year since 2008-09 were press and communications employees.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The total number of staff working at the Office is recorded in the Annual Report and Accounts, which are available online at www.gov.uk/scotland.

The Office is resourced to deliver all of the communications functions and activities expected and required of a government department in its own right and on behalf of the UK Government in Scotland.

Along with media handling, the operating model requires communications divisions to deliver the following functions: campaigns and marketing, digital communications, internal communications, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and external affairs - including ministerial visits, events, committee meetings, and activities.

The Office does not hold staff records for team-level staffing prior to 2009/10.

The number of staff working at the Office to deliver communications functions, including visits and events, on 31 March in each financial year since 2009/10 is as follows:

Financial Year

Office communications staff

2009-2010

6

2010-2011

8

2011-2012

6

2012-2013

8

2013-2014

8

2014-2015

9

2015-2016

11

2016-2017

15

2017-2018

14

2018-2019

15

2019-2020

17


Written Question
Scotland Office: Communication
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of people employed in the Union Unit or Union Taskforce in each financial year since 2018-19 were press and communications employees.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The Office does not hold figures for the Union Unit or Union Taskforce.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Advertising
Tuesday 15th December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish copies of audience targeting information used by his Department for (a) advertising, (b) campaign and (c) promotional purposes in the last 12 months.

Answered by Lord Jack of Courance

The audience targeting information used by the Office over the last 12 months is as follows:

  • All people in Scotland;
  • All people living in Scotland aged 18+;
  • All people in Scotland matching Interest: Small business, Entrepreneurship or Business, Behaviours: Small Business Owners, Industry: Business and Finance;
  • All people in Scotland matching Interest: Small Business, Small Business Owners, Small Business Administration, Small Business Saturday, business owner or Federation of Small Businesses. Behaviours: Small Business Owners. Employers: Small Business Owner, Industry: Business and Finance.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 11 Nov 2020
Oral Answers to Questions

"The Minister has recently said that the job retention scheme will last into next year, but he has also said that there will be no referendums on Scotland’s future for a generation. The Edinburgh agreement, signed by a Tory Prime Minister, provided the legal framework for the 2014 referendum, so …..."
Mhairi Black - View Speech

View all Mhairi Black (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 11 Nov 2020
Oral Answers to Questions

"I thank the Minister for confirming that there is no legal basis for his assertion on the timing of a future referendum. Given that it was also agreed cross-party that nothing in the Smith commission prevents Scotland from becoming an independent country in the future, can he tell us whose …..."
Mhairi Black - View Speech

View all Mhairi Black (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Oct 2020
Oral Answers to Questions

"Knowing as we do the negative consequences that the delay to the autumn Budget will have on the Scottish Parliament passing its budget, will the Minister tell us if he made his Cabinet colleagues and the Chancellor aware of these negative consequences, or was he himself unaware?..."
Mhairi Black - View Speech

View all Mhairi Black (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Oct 2020
Oral Answers to Questions

"Just to ask the Secretary of State again, because I did not hear an answer in there: can he tell us if he made his Cabinet colleagues aware of the negative consequences that would happen, and what was the result of these conversations?..."
Mhairi Black - View Speech

View all Mhairi Black (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions