§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many official Christmas cards were sent out in 1993 by(a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) staff of Government agencies working in or to his Department; and how much these cards cost (i) to buy, (ii) to post and (iii) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes.
§ Mr. HowardLast Christmas 450 cards were sent by Home Office Ministers; 8,450 by civil servants; and 11,012 by executive agencies. The cost of purchasing and posting these cards was £7,705 and £4,120 respectively. It is not possible to estimate accurately the cost of staff time in sending these out but this would have been minimal.