Breakdown of marketing spend on Covid-19 public information campaigns: FOI release

Information requested

“Costs to the Scottish taxpayer of the daily briefings and the information campaign alerting the public to the dangers of Covid.”

Response

The daily media briefings are hosted by the Scottish Government in Scottish Government buildings and facilitated by Scottish Government staff. The only cost incurred is for the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to ensure that vital public information is accessible to those with hearing impairments. The total cost invoiced and processed for payments for BSL interpreters from April 2020 until end January 2022 was £31,006.47.

The table below gives a breakdown of marketing spend on Covid-19 public information campaigns. Effective communication continues to play an essential role in providing vital COVID-19 public health information, which has supported the people of Scotland, businesses and organisations during the pandemic.

We are committed to openness and transparency and publish details of our marketing spend annually at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/.

FINANCIAL YEAR	TOTAL MARKETING SPEND ON COVID PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS
2019-20	£3,098,314.91
2020-21	£20,594,464.93
2021- 22 (up to 31/01/22)	£9,227,663.78

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.