§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what would be the cost involved in supplying a free copy of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook to all local libraries;
(2) if he will consider supplying a free copy of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook to any branch library which requested a copy;
(3) how many copies of the current Supplementary Benefits Handbook were printed; and how many remain in Her Majesty's Stationery Office stock;
(4) how many of the last issue of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook were pulped after publication of the current handbook.
§ Dr. Boyson[pursuant to his reply, 1 May 1984, c. 106–7]: Her Majesty's Stationery Office has roughly estimated that it would have cost DHSS in the region of £6,000 to have purchased sufficient copies of the 1983 edition of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook to enable copies to be provided free to all public libraries. We have no proposal to supply free copies to public libraries whether generally or on request. I can see no reason why public libraries should not purchase the handbook as they do other Government publications. I understand from 576W HMSO that 11,000 copies of the 1982 edition were destroyed when the revised edition was published in 1983, a year earlier than had been anticipated. I understand that 28,000 copies of the 1983 edition were printed of which, taking into account current orders for copies, just over 2,000 are still in stock.