HC Deb 25 February 2002 vol 380 cc890-1W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total cost of her Department's website was in real terms in each of the last four years; and how many hits it received in each of those years. [36146]

Clare Short

The total costs for the DFID website for the financial years 1998–99 to 2001–02 (to date) were as follows:

  • 1998–99: £40,305
  • 1999–2000: £42,731
  • 2000–01: £61,612
  • 2001–02: £131,381.

These figures include salary costs for the website manager, but exclude the costs of centrally provided departmental services (e.g. telephone charges). The figures for the current year include one-off costs for a complete redevelopment of the website to allow for a significant expansion in departmental material made available in electronic form, and in response to an increasing interest in the work of the Department.

The average weekly assessed hits for the same periods were:

  • 1998–99: 37,000
  • 1999–2000: 38,000
  • 2000–01: 40,257
  • 2001–021: 77,8411

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