§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press releases were issued by his Department(a) in total, (b) on the Minimum Income Guarantee, (c) on Benefit Fraud, (d) on the Winter Fuel Payment, (e) on Stakeholder Pensions and (f) on the Child Support Agency in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000 and (v) 2001 to date; and what the estimated total cost was of issuing press releases in each year. [5883]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe information is in the table.
Year Total for year1 Minimum Income Guarantee Benefit Fraud Winter Fuel Payment Stakeholder Pensions Child Support Agency 1997 290 — 17 1 4 10 1998 311 3 19 6 1 9 1999 260 6 49 2 8 10 2000 411 6 70 7 11 11 20011 244 3 28 1 9 6 1 To date Notes:
1. These are the totals of "all" press releases issued in each year and the costs reflect these totals.
2. Numbers of press releases are recorded on a calendar year basis from January to December each year.
Costs are recorded in financial years from April to March and are as follows:
£ 1997–98 16,328 1998–99 18,461 1999–2000 16,220 2000–01 15,054 2001–02 16,343 1estimated to date