§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press releases were issued by his Department in the financial years(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99 and (d) 1999–2000; how many have been issued in the current financial year; and what his estimate is of the total number for the current financial year. [149252]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 8 February 2001]: The number of press releases issued by the Ministry of Defence between the financial years 1996 to 2000 are indicated in the table:
Ministry of Defence press releases Number issued April 1996-March 1997 239 April 1998-March 1998 384 April 1998-March 1999 315 April 1999-March 2000 362 Between April 2000 to January 2001 the MOD issued a total of 266 press releases. The current rate of issue is expected to continue to the end of the current financial year.