§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of state for Health within what time Period his Department's press releases are placed on the Central Office of Information Internet services; and for what reasons press releases are not Placed on the Internet at the same time as they are issued to the media. [14593]
§ Ms JowellAll the Department's Press releases, other than operational notes solely for the attention of the media, are placed on the central Office of Information's (COI) government press release Internet site at approximately 10.30 am one working day after their issue to the media. COI will shortly be improving their Internet site, as a consequence of which press releases will be available to the public on the same day that they are issued to the media. At present, all Government press releases are updated on the Internet the next working day, in large batches manually. The individual tasked with this then, has other duties to perform at COI. If press releases were placed on the Internet immediately at the time of issue, one dedicated person would have to be deployed for this task. COI have commissioned software specifically designed for them to enable press Releases to be updated and placed on the Internet at regular intervals during the day. This will achieve the same day service.