§ Mr. Ogdenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he is aware that there is no branch of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the city of Liverpool, and that this causes inconvenience and delays to the social and business activities of South-West Lancashire and North Wales; and if he will set up a branch there;
(2) what is his estimate of the initial cost and annual costs involved in the provision of a branch of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the city of Liverpool;
(3) what would be the amount of the minimal annual turnover necessary to make a branch of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in Liverpool an economically viable proposition;
(4) what estimate has he made of the current level of demand for the service of a branch of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in Liverpool, to serve Merseyside, South-West Lancashire and North Wales.
§ Mr. MacDermotThe demand for Government publications in the Liverpool area represents a turnover of about £30,000 a year—which is little more than half what would be required for economical operation of a bookshop selling only Government publications with a low average price.
243WThe initial cost of providing such a bookshop would be at least £8,000 and the annual running cost between £12,000 and £16,000 per annum.
There is a main agent for Government publications in Liverpool and at least 15 other booksellers in the City maintain regular accounts with the Stationery Office. The great majority of orders by post from the North West are already dealt with by the Government Bookshop in Manchester.