§ Mr. FabricantTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the National Health Service, net of advertising, sponsorship and sales, of the production and distribution of the NHS Magazine in each month since its introduction; and what its budget is for the next 12 months. [50130]
§ Ms JowellThe "NHS Magazine", which was first published in June 1995, acts as a vehicle for sharing best practice within the National Health Service. It also carries 411W the most up to date quarterly data about NHS performance, helping to ensure the service remains accountable to those it serves.
The new costs of production of each issue of the magazine, all of which have been met from the communications budget of the NHS Executive, were:
Date Net Cost (£) Costs per issue (pence) Summer 1995 33,711 1.12 Autumn 1995 31,276 0.89 Winter 1995 27,611 0.79 Spring 1996 30,169 0.86 Summer 1996 26,812 0.72 Autumn 1996 33,154 0.95 Winter 1996 35,536 1 Spring 1997 29,815 0.85 Summer 1997 32,491 0.90 Autumn 1997 29,959 0.83 Winter 1997 40,285 1.15 Spring 1998 41,468 1.18 Summer 1998 50,030 1 Distribution costs of the magazine were met from a central Departmental budget and cannot be readily identified separately. There is no separately identified budget for the future production costs of the magazine, which will continue to be met from within the NHS Executive's overall budget.