§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the cost of sending all national health service employees the standard letter concerning national health service reforms dated March 1991 signed by Duncan Nichol.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe cost of printing and distributing Duncan Nichol's letter to health authorities was £127,000, a unit cost of 13p per letter. The cost of the exercise was met by the Department of Health. The Department maintains a budget for NHS communications, part of which is intended to keep NHS employees informed of developments in the health service and to enable them to participate more fully.
A copy of the letter is available in the Library.