§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current income earned by the Exchequer from, or costs charged to, the Exchequer by electronic information providers who make available(a) Government Press releases and (b) other Government documents on a commercial basis as a result of contracts or arrangements for the publishing electronically of Government information by (i) the Central Office of Information and (ii) other Government bodies.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIn 1993–94 the Central Office of Information was able to offset the cost of distributing Government press releases by £35,186 earned from electronic information providers. The information providers made no charges to the Exchequer for this service.
During 1993–94 the Central Office of Information also earned £14,641.49 from the electronic publication of other Government documents. The information providers made no charges to the Exchequer for this service.
Income earned and costs incurred by other Government bodies are a matter for individual Departments.