Net Book Agreement

HC Deb 22 June 1992 vol 210 c61W

Mr. Sproat

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what calculations he has made of the economic effects to public libraries of the abolition of the net book agreement.

Mr. Neil Hamilton

Figures are not available. In 1991 expenditure on books and pamphlets by United Kingdom public libraries was £101 million and this figure includes a 10 per cent. discount on net hooks under the library licence which is a part of the NBA.

Department of Trade and Industry regional office running costs £ Thousands
	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
	Current prices	1987–88 prices1	Current prices	1987–88 prices1	Current prices	1987–88 prices1	Current prices	1987―88 prices1	Current prices	1987–88 prices1
North East	2,727	2,727	3,250	3,032	3,412	2,990	4,246	3,431	4.420	3,338
North West	2,758	2,758	3,686	3,439	3,633	3,184	3,609	2,916	3,997	3,018
Yorkshire and Humberside	1,600	1,600	2,098	1,957	2,300	2,016	2,686	2,170	2,863	2,162
East Midlands	1,115	1,115	1,432	1,336	1,599	1,401	1,728	1,396	1,865	1,408
West Midlands	2,043	2,043	2,572	2.400	2,951	2,586	3,133	2,531	3,705	2.798
South West	1,011	1,011	1,390	1,297	1,461	1,280	1,616	1,306	1,804	1,362
South East	1,389	1,389	2,429	2,266	2,663	2,334	2,876	2,324	3,221	2,432
East2	—	—	—	—	391	343	1,124	908	1,423	1,075
1 Deflated by the public spending plans GDP deflator.
2 The East region was created during 1989–90 by splitting off the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk from the South East region.