Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department has spent on public relations companies since 4 July 2024 since 4 July 2024, and for what purpose.

The Department for Transport has spent £110,720.24 (excluding VAT) on public relations activity since 4 July 2024 to support its THINK! drink and drug driving campaigns. This forms part of the Department’s wider, targeted communications approach to road safety and is in line with its previous use of PR activity to complement paid media and reach priority audiences effectively.

The drug driving activity included partnerships with two media partners to highlight the risks of drug driving to its 17–30-year-old male target audience, particularly challenging the “I feel fine to drive” misconception.

The effectiveness of THINK! campaigns is assessed using established evaluation measures, including reach, engagement and delivery against key behavioural KPIs. Latest research shows that total trust in the THINK! brand among young men has increased to 82%, its highest recorded figure.

After seeing the most recent drink drive campaign, 72% of young male drivers aged 17–24 agreed that drinking even a small amount of alcohol before driving puts you at risk of being in a collision. In addition, 40% of young male drivers reported changing their own driving behaviour as a result of seeing THINK!’s drug driving campaign.