HC Deb 11 April 1983 vol 40 cc543-4
19. Mr. Wolfson

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he is making with his discussions on electronic publishing.

The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Paul Channon)

The working group which I established to consider this subject has just produced a discussion document, which has been sent for comment to a number of interested organisations. It will then be revised and published.

Mr. Wolfson

How long does my right hon. Friend expect that process to take? Are there any time limits?

Mr. Channon

I hope that the replies to the discussion document will be forthcoming in the next couple of months. In the light of those responses it might be a good idea to publish the document and, perhaps, to have a meeting of all the parties concerned. It is clearly a major development for publishing in the future, although not the immediate future. It is important to start a debate about the matter.