§ Norman LambTo ask the Solicitor-General how much the production of the Law Officers' Department's latest annual report cost; how many copies were printed; how many copies of it were sold at its cover price; to whom copies of the report have been provided free of charge; and how many copies were provided free of charge. [171148]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Law Officers' Departmental Report 2004 was presented to Parliament on 30 April 2004.
The Stationery Office (TSO) provided the Law Officers' Departments with 240 copies of the Report, at a cost of £5,160. Other costs of printing further copies are met directly by TSO as the publisher, and do not fall to the Government.
The Law Officers' Departments will send a small number of copies free of charge to other Government Departments and to members of the public on request.
The Departmental Report is being made available on the Law Officers' Departmental websites and is on sale at TSO at a cover price of £12.25.
There has been insufficient time since publication for TSO to provide any meaningful information on the number of reports sold at cover price.
The Crown Prosecution Service also published an Annual Report from the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Attorney-General. The 2002–03 Annual Report from the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Attorney-General cost the Crown Prosecution Service £35740.80 to produce 4,000 copies. Copies of the Annual Report were distributed throughout the Crown Prosecution Service's 42 geographical Areas in England and Wales. In addition, copies of the Annual Report were sent by the Director, the Chief Executive and others at 1199W CPS Headquarters, to other Government Departments and criminal justice system partners. Free copies of the Annual Report will also have been distributed to key members of the community in local Areas, visitors to Crown Prosecution Service offices and as part of publicity or careers campaigns in our Areas.
The most recent report published by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate covered the period 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2002. It was published on 5 February 2003. Publication of the report was handled by TSO who met the costs of printing and publication. Information about those costs is not available to HMCPSI. The company used its commercial judgment as to the total number of copies printed.
TSO supplied 650 copies to HMCPSI at a cost of £11,580.40—a small number remain in stock. The rest were distributed free of charge. The majority were distributed within the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Departments, other organisations and individuals associated with the criminal justice system such as the judiciary and Chief Constables. Copies were also sent to national media organisations, several academic institutions and other individuals with an interest in the CPS. Additionally, the report is available for download free of charge from the HMCPSI website. HMCPSI does not record how many times or by whom the report has been downloaded.
It is estimated that 260 copies were sold at cover price (£15.70) by TSO. None were sold by HMCPSI.
The cost of producing the Serious Fraud Office Annual Report 2002–03 was £31,243: 2,200 copies were printed. Of these 350 were retained by The Stationery Office limited for sale mostly to a subscription list, at a cover price of £13.60: 186 were sold. The remaining 1,850 copies were used by the SFO throughout the year.
Complementary copies were sent by the SFO on the publication date to police organisations and selected Government authorities and judicial bodies in the UK and overseas and to appropriate educational establishments and members of the press.
Sufficient copies are held in stock for distribution throughout the year.