§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends on biking press releases300W to (a) hon. Members and (b) other individuals or groups, each time his Department issues a press release; how many such press releases were issued by his Department (i) in the period 1 May to 1 July and (ii) in the period 1 January to 1 March; and if he will review his Department's use of couriers to deliver press releases and investigate the possibility of using fax or e-mail. [8821]
§ Ms. JowellThe Department of Health's press releases are made available to hon. Members and to the media via the Central Office of Information's News Distribution Service (NDS).
NDS's delivery mechanisms include a newswire service which, among others, supplies press releases to the Parliamentary Online Information Service (POLIS), which can be accessed by all Members of Parliament and Peers, hand deliveries, fax and postal deliveries, online databases, and a widely accessed World Wide Web site on the Internet.
These mechanisms are used either singly or in combination to ensure the most cost-effective methods are used to reach the relevant target audiences and to suit the nature of the documents; eg whether press releases are despatched on their own, or accompanied by reports or consultation documents. No separate costing is available for the hand delivery service alone.
Press releases issued Number 1 January 1997 to 1 March 1997 50 1 May 1997 to 1 July 1997 63 The Department and the COI keep a watching brief on new developments to ensure the most cost-effective delivery mechanisms are used.