Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's communications budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

The Department for Education has very significantly reduced the cost of its communications since 2010. The Department coordinates communications activities centrally to ensure they are focused and effective, using low-cost campaigns whenever practical. Paid-for marketing has been used to support several important campaigns including: encouraging people to come forward as adopters and foster parents; encouraging parents to take up the extension of free childcare to two-year-olds; and the Your Life campaign to ensure young adults acquire knowledge in maths and science.

The Department does not have a specific budget solely for advertising, which is included within the total communications spending below.

The Department’s total communications spending for each requested financial year is as follows: