§ Mr. SimsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advantages accrue to a publication which is registered at the Post Office as a newspaper; who controls registration; and what criteria have to be fulfilled to achieve registration.
§ Mr. LeighOperational matters of this kind fall within the responsibility of the Post Office. However, I536W understand that publishers of any publication registered at the Post Office as a newspaper may send newspapers by first-class mail at the second-class postage rate. Registration, which costs £6 per annum, is carried out by the Royal Mail's district offices. The principal criteria for registration are that not less than one third of the publication consists of news or current topics or articles relating thereto; the publication is published at intervals of not more than seven days and is printed and published in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Commonwealth, or the EC; and that it has the full title and date printed prominently on the first page.