HC Deb 01 April 1965 vol 709 cc273-5W
Sir R. Russell

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the machinery and equipment costing £105,000 purchased by Ordnance Survey during 1964–65 and of the £128,000-worth expected to be purchased during 1965–66.

Mr. John Mackie

Subject to the clearance of outstanding items by the end of the financial year, the sum of £105,000 will have been expended on the purchase of printing machinery and ancillary equipment £43,000; automatic reading planimeters £3,500; air survey cameras and instruments £53,000; miscellaneous survey equipment £4,500; and workshop equipment £1,000.

The sum of £128,000 provided for purchases during 1965–66 is made up of £26,500 for printing machinery and ancillary equipment; £19,000 for automatic reading planimeters; £70,000 for air survey cameras and instruments; £10,500 for miscellaneous survey equipment, and £2,000 for workshop equipment.

Sir R. Russell

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the £362,000-worth of stores, etc., expected to be purchased by Ordnance Survey in 1965–66, as shown in the Civil Estimates, Class X, Vote 10c.

Mr. John Mackie

The sum of £362,000 is made up of £94,000 for map printing paper, map mounting cloth and map cover boards, £114,000 for printing plates, photographic plates and film, £61,000, for maintenance and running expenses of motor transport, including vehicle replacements £23,000, £48,000 for miscellaneous survey stores and materials and £45,000 for miscellaneous drawing and printing stores and materials.

Sir R. Russell

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of maps produced by Ordnance Survey is sold to the public in competition with commercial firms; and what steps are being taken to improve the sales.

Mr. John Mackie

Ordnance Survey maps on the scales of one-inch and quarter-inch to the mile are those chiefly in competition with commercial publications. They represent about half the total sales of Ordnance Survey maps to the public. The revenue from sales of all Ordnance Survey map series rose from £421,000 in 1962–63 to over £550,000 in 1964–65. Several steps are being taken to increase sales even further, including the design of more attractive covers, the issue of improved publicity aids for use by Agents and the Trade, and an increase in press advertising.