§ Mr. Ronald Bellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why the Ordnance Survey, which is a Government monopoly, is proposing to increase its charge to Spurbrooks Limited for the reproduction of map extracts in books in the "Walking and Rambling" series from approximately £40 to approximately £600 per book; and whether this accords with the anti-inflation policy of Her Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. OakesThe system of charges being introduced on 1st January 1976 takes account of increased costs falling on the Ordnance Survey and aims to produce a result which is fairer as between different classes of user. The present system of charges was introduced at a time when the main demand came from professional users requiring only a limited number of copies of each item. The rate of charge is relatively high for the first few copies and declines rapidly as the number of copies increases. As a result, commercial publishers make only a small contribution per copy produced. The new scale follows normal commercial practice and applies a weighting for making reproduction for quantity printing.
316WThe Price Code does not apply to Government fees and charges, but similar disciplines are applied.