§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost of the Government Information and Communication Service Media Monitoring Unit was for(a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99. [128462]
§ Mr. StringerThe Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) operated as a pilot between December 1997 and March 1998. The MMU's set-up and running costs for this period were absorbed by a wide range of Departments. This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the 1998–99 financial year, the total cost of the unit was £478,878. These costs were recovered from a large number of Departments out of their existing funds.