§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an analysis showing how the selling price of £4.70 was calculated for printing the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1983–84; and how this compares with the price of £4.30 for the 1982–83 report.
§ Sir Geoffrey Howe[pursuant to his reply, 21 March 1983, c. 323]: The information sought is as follows:
Financial Statement and Budget Report 1982–83 £ 1983–84 £ Basic price for 40 page item larger than Royal Octavo 3.30 3.65 Plus 25 per cent, addition to cover the extra cost of tabular material 0.83 0.91 Plus standard addition for single-colour cover 0.15 0.15 4.28 4.71 Rounded to 4.30 4.70 Notes:
1. Parliamentary papers are priced on standard scales relating price to page content and format. The scales aim to cover the overall costs of printing, publishing, stocking, distribution and selling.
2. The increase in price is due to the fact that the standard scales were 395W increased by an average of 11 per cent. with effect from 1 April 1982. The improvements in format in the 1983–84 report have not affected the cover price.