§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if all the functions of the Central Office of Information will be sold if it becomes privatised; and if he will make a statement; [8494]
(2) what negotiations are being carried out in respect of privatising the Central Office of Information; and if he will make a statement. [8477]
§ Mr. FreemanI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mr. Butler) on 23 November 1995,Official Report, column 235, in which I confirmed that the Central Office of Information will continue as a next steps agency.
1990–91 £ 1991–92 £ 1992–93 £ 1993–94 £ 1994–95 £ 1995–96 (established) £ Total staff costs 263,919 247,428 393,933 547,917 575,761 475,756 Entertainment 110 329 1,152 1,002 3,373 1,259 Stationery 641 1,774 3,863 2,262 8,386 30,193 Expenditure on the other items in each of the last five years is not collected in the format requested but is included in the running cost expenditure of my Department which was £64,646,000 in 1994–951. Projections for 1995–96 are in line with overall expenditure for next year published in the Public Expenditure Survey statement.
1This includes the running costs for the Office of Science and Technology, now transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry.
1991–92 £ 1992–93 £ 1993–94 £ 1994–95 £ 1995–96 (est.) £ Overseas travel and accommodation (Minister and advisers) nil 10,432 30,710 17,700 65,000 Car and chauffeuring costs 56,869 122,734 194,460 138,936 114,561 Ministerial security costs nil nil nil nil nil Domestic travel and accommodation (Minister and advisers) 48 17,473 9,898 7,210 9,100