HC Deb 19 October 1999 vol 336 cc571-2W
Mr. Maclean

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list his Department's spending on official publications since May 1997. [93692]

Mr. Lock

The spending on official publications since May 1997 by the Lord Chancellor's Department was £4,407,500. This represents spending by LCDHQ, Court Service, Public Trust Office, Public Records Office, Office of the Official Solicitor and the Land Registry. This excludes the cost of publications produced for internal use. Where the Department makes use of a private sector publisher, printing and design costs are generally met by the publisher as part of their acceptance of the risks of publication.

Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how often his Department produces(a) LCD News, (b) Talkback, (c) Hearsay and (d) Direct Brief; which of these publications are unclassified; and when each publication was first produced. [93934]

Mr. Lock

"LCD News" is published weekly and circulated to all staff in LCD HQ and the Court Service. It was first produced in 1972. It is unclassified. "Hearsay" is published bi-monthly and is circulated to staff in LCD HQ and the Court Service. It was first published in March/April 1997. It is unclassified. It replaced "Your Court," first published in October/November 1987, which was unclassified. "Talkback" was circulated to all LCD HQ staff on a six-weekly basis on average. It was first published in April 1997 and discontinued in February 1999. It was unclassified. "Direct Brief' is circulated to all Court Service staff. It is published monthly, with up to 3 to 4 "special" editions, as and when required, each year. It was first published in May 1997.