asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the total cost to his Department of media advertising in connection with the referendum on the Single European Act.
Written Answers. - SEA Referendum Advertising Costs.
18.
My Department placed advertisements in the national media with a view to notifying the public of the availability of the information booklet issued by the Government on the Single European Act. The total net cost of these advertisements was £1,664.
In my reply to questions in this House on 16 June on the cost of information material produced and advertising placed by the Government in connection with the referendum on the Single European Act some of the figures I gave were inadvertently misstated. I should like to take this opportunity to correct the record in the matter.
The Government published the following material on the Single European Act with a view to providing the information necessary for the national debate preparatory to the referendum:—
—a detailed information booklet in which the full text of the Single
European Act was included; 20,000 copies of this booklet were ordered;
—a brief guide which summarised the provisions of the Single European Act in a succinct form and of which 50,000 copies were printed;
—a series of eight explanatory leaflets in which key questions about various aspects of the Single European Act were addressed. The total quantity of leaflets printed was 6,620,000.
Through this approach, the Government sought to anticipate and respond to the various concerns and information requirements of the electorate.
The total net cost of producing the foregoing material is estimated at £181,731.44, of which £175,231.44 is in respect of the brief guide and the explanatory leaflets and £6,500 is in respect of the information booklet.
The total net cost of media advertising taken by the Government in connection with the referendum was £164,263.96.