§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Lord Privy Seal what is the weekly and annual cost of weekly magazines and periodicals supplied to the House; what was the cost in each of the past three years; and if he will list the newspapers supplied and break down their cost as between each title.
§ Mr. BiffenExpenditure on weekly magazines and periodicals cannot readily be identified separately. The overall costs of newspapers and periodicals supplied to the Library Department and to the Serjeant at Arms' Department respectively in the past three years were as follows:
Library Department £ £ Total Cost Weekly Rate 1982–83 35,125 675 1983–84 37,112 714 1984–85 48,423 931 1985–86 46,181 888
Serjeant at Arms Department £ £ Total Cost Weekly Rate (sitting weeks only) 1982–83 15,019 429 1983–84 13,977 437 1984–85 17,527 487 1985–86 18,159 504 A list of titles filed in the Library is available in the Reference Room; and further details can be provided on request to the respective Departments. A number of newspapers are supplied to the House free of charge.