§ Mr. Hugh BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, how many official christmas cards were sent out in 1993. by(a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) staff of Government agencies working in or to his Department; and how much these cards cost (i) to buy, (ii) to post and (iii) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 19 January 1994, c. 656]: The chief executives of the Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Parks agencies have now written to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Welch to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 21 January 1994:
As you know, I have been asked by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Mr. Lain Sproat, to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of Christmas cards sent by the Royal Parks Agency, and the cost of sending them.The only christmas cards distributed by the Agency were from Richmond Park. The printing costs were sponsored locally. 281W Envelopes cost £10 and they were sent at normal second class postal rate. It is not possible to quantify the cost of staff time involved in distributing them.Letter from David Beeton to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 20 January 1994:
I have been asked by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for National Heritage, Mr. Sproat, to reply to your Parliamentary Question regarding Historic Royal Palaces Agency christmas cards.The Agency purchased 1,000 Christmas cards at a cost of £251.51. These, together with stocks (of about 650) remaining from the previous year, were supplied to me and my Palace and Specialist Directors and their staff, all of whom are civil servants.All cards were despatched at normal second class postal rate, or were sent via the Government Inter Departmental Service. It is not possible to quantify the cost in staff time to sign, address and envelope the cards.