§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his reply, Official Report, 4 December 1979, column 180,concerning the public sector borrowing requirement, it is the policy of his Department to circulate Treasury press notices outside the press on the widest possible basis; if such notices are obtainable through Her Majesty's Stationery Office and by reference libraries, universities and other institutions of record; how many such institutions at present receive such press notices; and whether he will now publish in the Official Report the information originally requested.
§ Mr. BiffenI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the distribution of "Economic Prospects for 1980", which was published as a supplement to "Economic Progress Report", and to the covering press notice. 190,000 copies of the supplement were distributed to individuals and institutions, including many of those mentioned in the hon. Member's question. Copies were placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Over 1,600 copies were issued, with covering press notice, to national and regional media in order to achieve maximum publicity for the supplement which is available free on request from the Treasury. As with other free publications, neither the supplement nor the covering press notice is available through HMSO.
On the last part of the question, I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 4 December last.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his reply, Official Report, 6 December 1979, column 337, concerning the flow 649W of funds used to finance deficits in the balance of payments, it is the policy of the Central Statistical Office to circulate its press notices outside the press on the widest possible basis; if such press notices are obtainable through Her Majesty's Stationery Office by reference libraries, universities and other institutions of record; how many such institutions at present receive such press notices; and whether he will now publish in the Official Report the information originally requested.
§ Mr. LawsonPress notices are mainly intended to provide the media with information quickly and economically. CSO press notices are supplied to the House of Commons Library and are obtainable by non-press organisations from the CSO, on request. Information about the number of "institutions of record" receiving CSO press notices is not readily available.
If the hon. Member requires more information than is contained in the publications referred to in my reply of 6 December, perhaps he would send me details of his needs.