§ Mrs. Anne CampbellTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the annual cost to the Central Office of Information of the conversion of Government Department press releases to electronic format and making them available electronically; and what is the annual income gained from the charges made for Government press releases in electronic format.
Mr. Robert G. HughesIt is not possible to identify the cost to the Central Office of Information of the conversion of Government Department press releases to electronic format.
Government Department press releases are supplied electronically to the news media and the Central Office of Information makes no charge to recipients for this service.
Public access to press releases in electronic format is provided via commercial on-line services some of which provide universal access via the Internet.
Income from these services was £35,186 in 1993–94, and this income was used to offset the cost to Government of distributing press releases to the media.