Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's advertising and communications expenditure was in each month since September 2014; and what that expenditure is forecast to be in March 2015.

Since September 2014 until March 2015, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s advertising and communications expenditure was as follows:

· A national awareness campaign for superfast broadband (December 2014 - March 2015). Expenditure included the media buying costs (e.g. the airtime for TV/press adverts) as well as production costs for adverts (TV/radio/digital/out of home), social media activity and a toolkit of materials for local authorities.

· As part of the Government’s Business is GREAT campaign, the Department carried out advertising aimed at small businesses to encourage them to take up a grant for superfast broadband connection for their businesses. This ran September - December 2014 and comprised media buying costs (out of home posters, local press advertisements and radio airtime) and production costs (e.g. photography, fees, printing).

· Design was commissioned for digital media activity, in support of other on-going communications campaigns (improving mobile coverage and free Wi-Fi in public buildings) as the Department does not have its own in-house design team.

The breakdown of expenditure by month, by invoiced date is attached.