§ Mr. John Mooreasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what time was Command Paper No. 6393, Public Expenditure to 1978–80, available at the Vote Office to Members of Parliament; what was the first time and the date that it was released to the media; how many copies were issued to the media; to whom the media copies were issued; and under what authority were the media given copies in advance of Members of Parliament.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettCommand Paper No. 6393, Public Expenditure to 1979–80, was available in the Vote Office at 4 p.m. on 19th February. In accordance with long-standing practice followed by this and previous administrations, copies of 337W the Confidential Final Revise of this Command Paper, embargoed till 4 p.m. on 19th February, were made available on a limited basis to newspapers, Press agencies and broadcasting organisations from the late afternoon of Tuesday 17th February. About 265 copies were issued in this way, mainly to parliamentary and financial correspondents and editors.