§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the expenditure of his Department on newspapers and magazines in(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98 to date and (d) 1997–98 full year; and if he will list the newspapers and magazines purchased or subscribed to on a regular basis. [26678]
§ Mr. Straw[holding answer 5 February 1998]: The information requested is as follows:
- 1995–96: £135,000
- 1996–97: £166,000
- 1997–98(to 31 December 1997): £112,000
- 1997–98(estimated full-year expenditure): £135,000
These figures relate to expenditure on newspaper and magazines purchase on subscription by the Home Office's information and library services (from 1 July 1997, by Home Office Communication Directorate's Resource Management Group), and include expenditure for the Prison Service and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. These figures also include expenditure for the Forensic Science Service. No central record is held of 109W materials purchased from Directorates' budgets, or for non-departmental public bodies (other than the Forensic Science Service) for which my Department is responsible.
My Department purchases or obtains free of charge a wide range of newspapers and periodical publications. A list of the titles taken by the central Home Office, including the Prison Service and Immigration and Nationality Directorate, together with a list of titles taken by the Forensic Science Service, has been placed in the Library.