§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, from the 41W information available to him, he can estimate the total expenditure by the education services and by libraries on books and the approximate percentage that this represents of total book sales in the United Kingdom.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonPurchases of books by local education authorities and library authorities in the United Kindom for the financial year 1972–73 were about £33 million and £18 million respectively. Together these figures represented about 40 per cent. of bulk sales by United Kingdom publishers to the home market, which were about £127 million for 1972 (calendar year). Because of distributors' margins, the different financial years, and the granting of discounts, it is not possible to make an exact comparison.