HC Deb 29 March 1982 vol 21 cc12-3W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the bicentenary celebrations of the founding of his Department; and what public funds are expected to be spent on these activities.

Mr. Whitelaw

The main events are the visit on 25 March to the Home Office by Her Majesty the Queen; a series of lectures sponsored jointly by the Home Office and the Royal Institute of Public Administration; the publication of a book about the Home Office between 1848 and 1914; the production of a commemorative brochure; and an internal exhibition. £10,000 was provided in the Home Office vote for special expenditure on the bicentenary, much of which will be recovered by sales of the brochure, and from a share in the royalties for the book. Other minor expenditure, not involving any special provision, will fall on the Department's hospitality subhead and on the votes of the Central Office of Information and the Property Services Agency.