Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 24066 on DBIST: Communication and with reference to the line entitled stop all non-essential spending on communications in Table 2 of HM Treasury's document entitled Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25, updated on 2 August 2024, if he will set out the business case for increasing his Department's advertising and publicity spending between 2024-25 and 2025-26.

The increase in the Department’s advertising and publicity expenditure reflects investment in priority campaigns supporting economic growth and the delivery of government policy. This sits within a cross-government commitment to reduce campaign expenditure overall, with the Government on track to deliver £85 million of savings across government.

Departmental activity included Backing Your Business, helping businesses access government support; National Minimum and Living Wage activity supporting awareness and compliance; and international GREAT campaigns promoting the UK to investors and businesses.

Expenditure in individual departments may vary from year to year and is subject to appropriate controls to ensure value for money.