Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm’s length bodies has paid to external public relations firms since 5 July 2024; and to list those firms.

Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.