§ Mr. William PowellTo ask the Prime Minister (1) how many official histories have been commissioned by the Government since 1960; what are their titles; when each was commenced; when each was completed; who were the authors; and what was the cost of each;
(2) how many Government-sponsored official histories are currently in preparation; when they were commissioned; who are the authors; what are the estimated dates of completion; and what is the estimated cost of each.
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Title Author Commissioned Completion Publication Table A SOE in France M. R. D. Foot 1960 1966 SOE in the Far East2 C. Cruickshank 1980 1983 SOE in Scandinavia2 C. Cruickshank 1984 1986 SOE in Greece2 R. R. M. Clogg 1984 Estimated completion 1991 SOE in the Low Countries2 M. R. D. Foot 1987 Estimated completion 1991 SOE in Yugoslavia2 M. C. Wheeler 1987 Estimated completion 1992 SOE in Italy C. M. Woods 1989 Estimated completion 1992–93 Table B British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol I Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others 1971 1979 British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol II Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others 1971 1981 British Intelligence in the Second Word War, vol III Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others 1971 1984 (Part I) Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol III Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others 1971 1988 (Part II) Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol IV Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and C. A. G. Simkins 1971 1990 British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol V Professor Sir Michael Howard 1971 1990 Table C
§ The Prime MinisterThe original programme of official histories commissioned by the War Cabinet covered the military and civil history of the second world war.
Subsequently two further groups of wartime histories were commissioned, tables A and B;
On 9 March 1966 the then Prime Minister announced that the official programme would be extended to include selected periods or episodes of peacetime history. The following were commissioned, table C.
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Title Author Commissioned Completion Publication Environmental Planning Professor J. B. Cullingworth 1969 Published in 4 Vols. between 1975–1981 Nationalisation of British Industry Professor Sir Norman Chester 1969 1975 Colonial Development2 D. J. Morgan 1969 Published in 5 Vol.s 1980 External Economic Policy1 Professor L. S. Pressnell 1974 Vol. I published 1987 Vol. II estimated date of publication 1992 Defence Organisation Since 19451 Professor D. Cameron Watt 1974 Estimated date of publication 1992 British Part in the Korean War1 General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley 1978 Vol. I published 1990 Estimated publication date Vol. II 1992 The Health Services Since the War1 Dr. Charles Webster 1978 Vol. I published 1988 Estimated publication of Vol. II 1992–3 1 currently in preparartion. 2 main preparation and all publication costs met by commercial publishers. The cost of preparing official histories is borne on the votes of several Government Departments, mainly the Cabinet Office; the cost of printing, publishing and distribution falls to HMSO. (Revenue from sales goes towards offsetting these costs). It is not possible without disproportionate cost to itemise the cost of individual histories.