History of Parliament Trust

HC Deb 15 July 2002 vol 389 cc49-50W

Ian Lucas

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission (1) if he will make a statement on the size of the House of Commons Commission's grant in aid to the History of Parliament Trust for each year since 1995–96; [68883]

(2) if he will provide a specific grant to subsidise the retail cost of "The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1690–1715". [68884]

Mr. Kirkwood

The House of Commons Commission provides funds for the work of the History of Parliament Trust in line with the Trust's three-year financial plans and annual estimates. These plans allow for the work of the Trust to proceed at its present level of activity. Since 1999, the House of Lords has also provided support for the Trust. These grants in aid cover the whole of the Trust's running costs, and represent a significant subsidy.

The table shows the grant in aid made to the Trust since 1995–96:

Grant in aid
£
Year	House of Commons	House of Lords	Total
1995–96	947,000	—	947,000
1996–97	1,077,000	—	1,077,000
1997–98	1,057,000	—	1,057,000
1998–99	1,058,000	—	1,058,000
1999–2000	968,000	200.000	1,168,000
2000–01	1,017,000	210,000	1,227,000
2001–02	1,056,500	260,000	1,316,000

The retail price charged for the Trust's publications represents only the cost of printing and distribution of the volumes, rather than the costs of the research, which are met by the grant in aid from the Houses of Parliament. This mechanism provides more certainty of support for the research work, while indirectly subsidising the cost of the publications. I understand that there are no plans for a specific retail price subsidy. The pricing policy has always been governed by the need to strike a balance between affordability and the need to make some financial return on sales, recognising that the great majority of sales are likely to be to institutions rather than to individuals. By the standards of academic publications, the History's volumes are reasonably priced and are affordable by university libraries, country record offices and public libraries.