Bob Neill (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Bromley & Chislehurst, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 24 April 2009, Official Report, columns 911-2W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, which public affairs consultancies were hired by (a) the Housing Corporation and (b) English Partnerships in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse of such hiring was in each case; and for what purposes public affairs consultancies were hired by the agencies in the period.

Margaret Beckett (Minister of State (Housing), Department for Communities and Local Government; Derby South, Labour)

English Partnerships made no payments for public affairs work in the years 2005-06, 2006-07 or 2007-08. It is possible that some spend in relation to community consultation and engagement on specific projects may have involved public affairs firms, but it is not possible to separately identify these other than at disproportionate cost.

The only public affairs firm used by the Housing Corporation was APCO. The Housing Corporation made no payments for public affairs work in the years 2005-06 or 2006-07. In 2007-08 payments totalling £7,801 were made to APCO for the purposes of an article written by the then Chairman of the Housing Corporation, and for consultancy work associated with transition.