§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the price charged for the dailyOfficial Report of parliamentary debates in 1970, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1987 and 1992, and with a constant price index where 1970 = 100.
§ Mr. Maples[holding answer 10 February 1992]: The information requested is as follows:
Year Actual Price in February Price Expressed in 1970 terms 1970 2s 3d 2s 3d 1974 20p 14p 1979 40p 14p 1983 £1.00 22p 1987 £2.95 53p 1992 £7.50 £1.04 For many years the prices of parliamentary debates were heavily subsidised. In 1983, when the annual subsidy stood at £6 million, the Government decided progressively to reduce the level of subsidy required, by a combination 525W of price increases and improved methods of production. I was able to announce last November that the latest price increases, together with plans to enable the reports of proceedings to be "machine-read" by the HMSO presses, should permit the final elimination of the revenue subsidy—1 November 1991, Official Report, column 3.