§ Major HORE-BELISHAasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will give figures showing the circulation of the OFFICIAL REPORT, and state whether steps have been taken to carry out the suggestions made to the Publications and Debates Committee, with a view to securing, among public libraries and other institutions, as well as the principal clubs, a much wider circulation of the daily issue, and thus to enable a material reduction in the price at present charged for the OFFICIAL REPORT; whether he can see his way to reduce the cost of this publication to 3d.: and whether he will consider the selling of advertisement space in this publication, with a view to being able still further to reduce the price charged for each copy?
Mr. GRAHAMAbout 3,250 copies of the OFFICIAL REPORT are printed daily, of which about 1,850 are issued to Members of Parliament or used for official purposes, and about 1,150 copies are sold at 6d. a copy. When the price was 1s. sales averaged to 780 copies daily, and at 3d. the sales were about 1,400 daily. I doubt whether the insertion of advertisements in this publication, even with a view to enabling us to sell it at a lower price, would commend itself to the general opinion of the House. On the other points I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on the 4th March to the hon. Member for Finchley (Mr. T. Robertson).