Key information
Request reference number: MGLA181022-1509
Date of response:
Summary of request
You requested:
How much have us Londoners paid for Facebook advertising this financial year?
How much have us Londoners paid for Facebook advertising since Khan was elected Mayor of London?
Our response:
The GLA has a responsibility to keep Londoners informed and engaged in the work of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, and Facebook advertising supports that.
For example, to inform Londoners about People’s Question Time events and encourage them to register to attend, or to encourage Londoners to take part in statutory public consultations.
Furthermore, in light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the GLA has had a responsibility to ensure that Londoners are given the information needed to stay safe. This has meant scaling up our Facebook campaigns in order to ensure we are reaching as many Londoners as possible with this vital messaging.
We use Facebook advertising to reach and engage Londoners in a cost-effective way and ensure they receive information about the GLA’s work to make London fairer, safer and greener, including support through the cost of living crisis, to tackle violence against women and girls or improve air quality.
The GLA’s communications spend on Facebook is below that of other
public bodies. For example, in the financial year 2018-19 the Department for Work & Pensions expenditure on Facebook was over £1.029m across only six campaigns.
The data we hold on Facebook advertising spend is organised by financial year, and to interrogate that data for the exact dates you specify would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Below are the records closest to the date range you specified, broken down by financial year. We hope that they are helpful.
The total amount of money spent by the GLA on Facebook advertising for this financial year to date (1 April 2022 - 20 October 2022) is £135,514.34.
The total for the financial years since Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23) is £1,415,130.15.
These figures are taken from Facebook Business Manager across the @LDN_gov and @MayorofLondon accounts.
GLA spend on Facebook advertising this financial year, from April 2022 - 20 October 2022 is £135,514.34.
GLA spend on Facebook advertising since 2016:
Financial Year/ Total
2016/17 £99,839.72
2017/18 £129,858.83
2018/19 £345,866.33
2019/20 £346,817.48
2020/21 £183,812.81
2021/22 £173,420.64
2022/23 (1 April 2022 - 20 October 2022) £135,514.34
Overall total £1,415,130.15
To note:
The above spend covers LDN gov and Mayor of London Facebook ad accounts.
The spend outlined only covers advertising buying costs.
The data from 2016 - 2019 is taken from a previous FOI request MGLA240220-3456. Data from 2019/20 onwards has been sourced for this request.
If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact me, quoting the
reference MGLA181022-1509.