Written question asked by John Robertson (Labour) on Monday, 26 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 January 2009. It was answered by Tony McNulty (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Employment Schemes: Finance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much had been spent on his Department's Employ ability programme at the latest date for which figures are available; and how much of the expenditure had been used for the purposes of advertising the programme.

Answer: Employ ability is a communications campaign that aims to challenge attitudes among SME employers towards recruiting and retaining disabled people and those with long term health conditions. The campaign was piloted in four cities from September to December 2007 and rolled out to 10 UK areas between March 2008 and the present day.The campaign is delivered through the following activity:"Advertising and advertorials in trade and regional press;""Billboard posters;""Media liaison and PR;""How to Employ ability workshops;""Web pages on DWP website;""E-marketing;""Direct mail and telemarketing;""Stakeholder engagement."The total amount spent on the campaign to date is £3,892,180.The amount spent on advertising to date is: £2,237,279.

Secondary information