§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what methods are being used to distribute a copy of the parents charter to every parent; what is the estimated cost of(a) preparing the text, (b) printing and (c) distributing the charter; how many copies have been printed; by what process commercial firms used to distribute the charter were selected; which companies were appointed; and at what cost to public funds.
§ Mr. EggarSchools have been asked, on a voluntary basis, to distribute the charter to parents. Copies are also available in main libraries and post offices, and could he ordered via a freepost address or freephone number which were advertised in the national press and magazines in September and October.
The cost of preparing the text for publication was some £21,000. Printing costs have so far amounted to £446,000, and distribution costs to £550,000. Nearly 6.8 million copies of the charter have been printed, including 281,000 translated into eight ethnic minority languages. The 258W Central Office of Information was commissioned to manage the distribution arrangements, at a cost to date of nearly £4,000. It selected the mailing house, Mail Marketing (Bristol) Ltd., and telephone agency, Merit Direct Ltd., from an approved list of contractors.