§ The Marquess of Ailesburyasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he will list the responsibilities of the House of Lords Information Office.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe Information Office is part of the Journal Office and has the following specific responsibilities, with the objective of increasing public understanding of the House of Lords as part of Parliament:
it provides an information service to peers, the public and the press, including replies to telephone enquiries and the supply of written material;
it collaborates with the House of Commons Public Information Office to provide an Education Unit which delivers an educational service on behalf of both Houses of Parliament;
it supplies information for the House of Lords site on the Internet;
it is developing a teletext system for the provision of information on the annunciators and television monitors within the House of Lords.
Following a review of information services, there has been since October 1996 a new post of Senior Information Officer. In addition to assisting with the overall aim of increasing public understanding of the House, the duties of this post include advising on the presentation and co-ordination of information about the House as a whole and about select committees, advising on applications to film and broadcast in the House, and liaising with the media.