HC Deb 24 June 1976 vol 913 cc606-11W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) who has the use of the 11 television sets in his Department; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(2) who has the use of the five television sets in the Welsh Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(3) who has the use of the five television sets in the Department of Energy; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(4) who has the use of the seven television sets in Her Majesty's Treasury; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(5) who has the use of the 12 television sets in the Department of Trade; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(6) who has the use of the three television sets in the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(7) who has the use of the two television sets in the Scottish Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(8) who has the use of the television set at the Department of National Savings; what was the cost: and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of this television set;

(9) who has the use of the four television sets in the Privy Council Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets.

(10) who has the use of the six television sets in the Northern Ireland Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(11) who has the use of the 11 television sets in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; what were the costs; and whether, considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to these television sets;

(12) who has the use of the three television sets in the Department of Social Security; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(13) who has use of three black and white television sets in the Home Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(14) who has the use of the television set in the Law Officers Department; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of this television set;

(15) why it is necessary for two coloured television sets to be in the Home Office; and whether, in the interests of

Department Number of Sets For use of
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 3 Minister.
Press Office.
Duty Office.
Cabinet Office 2 Minister (CDL).
Duty Intelligence Officer.
Central Office o f Information 1 News Room.
Civil Service Department 3 Lord Privy Seal.
Chief Information Officer.
Counter Inflationary Publicity Unit.
H.M. Customs and Excise 1 Information Officer.

Government economy, he will remove these sets or replace them with a single black and white set;

(16) who has the use of the five television sets in the Department of Employment; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(17) who has the use of the three television sets in the Department of Education and Science; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expediture, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(18) who has the use of the three television sets in the Civil Service Department; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(19) who has the use of the television set in the Customs and Excise Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of this television set;

(20) who has the use of the three television sets in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(21) who has the use of the two television sets in the Cabinet Office; what were the costs; and whether, when considering cuts in Government expenditure, he will put an end to the use of these television sets;

(22) if he will now take action to reduce the number of 97 coloured and black and white television sets in the offices of Ministers and Junior Ministers.

Mr. Armstrong

Ninety-six black and white television sets have been provided in Government offices for official purposes as follows:

Department Number of Sets For use of
Ministry of Defence 3 Director, Public Relations (Army).
Duty Press Officer.
PR3 (Royal Air Force).
Department of Education and Science 3 Secretary of State.
Minister.
Press Office.
Department of Employment 5 Secretary of State.
Minister.
Director of Information.
Chief of Press Office.
Information Office.
Department of the Environment 11 Secretary of State.
Minister for Transport.
Minister for Housing and Construction.
Minister for Planning and Local Government.
Minister of State.
Four Parliamentary Under-Secretaries.
Director of Information.
Deputy Director of Information.
Foreign and Common wealth Office 11 Two News Departments.
Four Ministers.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary.
Emergency Suite.
Two Resident Clerks.
Guidance and Information Policy Department.
Department of Health and Social Security 3 Secretary of State.
Director of Information.
Duty Officer.
Home Office 4 Secretary of State.
Press Office.
Duty Office.
Director of Information Services.
Law Officer Department 1 1. Attorney General.
2. Solicitor General.
3. Parliamentary Secretary.
Department for National Savings 1 Chief Press Office.
Northern Ireland Office 6 Emergency Room.
Secretary of State.
Two Ministers.
Chief Information Officer.
Press Office.
Privy Council 4 Lord President of the Council.
Minister.
Parliamentary Secretary.
Information Officer.
Scottish Office 2 Director of Information.
Secretary of State.
Department of Energy 5 Secretary of State.
Minister.
Director of Information Services.
Emergency Duty Room.
Press Office.
Department of Prices and Consumer Protection 3 Minister.
Co-ordination and Information Division.
Chief Information Officer.
Department of Industry 8 Secretary of State/Industry.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary/Industry.
Minister.
Minister of State/Industry.
Two Chief Information Officers.
Two Emergency Sections.
Department of Trade 4 Secretary of State/Trade.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary/Trade.
Chief Information Officer.
Principal Information Officer.
Treasury 7 Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Paymaster General.
Minister.
Press Section.
Principal Information Officer.

Department Number of Sets For use of
Welsh Office … … … … … 5 Secretary of State.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.
Press Office.
Chief Information Officer.

A colour television set has also been provided for the use of my noble Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, with responsibility for broadcasting—the Lord Harris of Greenwich—whose responsibilities require him, among other things, to be aware of the quality of programmes and the latest technical skills of the industry.

Policy is to restrict the numbers of TV sets to the minimum number required for the efficient conduct of Government business and there are no plans to reduce the numbers as a contribution to Government expenditure cuts. Any reduction would result in only very small savings, as annual maintenance costs, including overheads, are approximately £800 per annum and the cost of providing new sets in 1975–76 was £2,500.