±±¾©Èü³µpk10

The Liberal Democrats have called for an inquiry into the

government's £143m advertising spend after COI Communications

overtook Procter & Gamble to become the UK's biggest advertiser.

The Lib Dems' Treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor said an inquiry was

needed to eradicate any suspicion that "a sharp rise in advertising

before elections is for party advantage". The government spent around

£60m on ads in the three months before Labour called last June's

general election.

Taylor said the forthcoming Civil Service Bill would be the best place

to address concerns that government ads are being subjected to undue

political influence. "Advertising should not be undertaken unless there

is clear evidence of its efficacy, and unless there is a clear need for

public information," Taylor told Marketing.

He said the government's "appalling record on public sector staff

retention" was to blame for the millions of pounds spent on police,

nursing and teacher recruitment campaigns.

Feature, page24.