Computer File Formats

HC Deb 25 May 2004 vol 421 c1560W

Mr. Allan

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's policy is in respect of the computer file formats used for the(a) distribution and (b) archiving of publicly available documents. [173365]

Ms Hewitt

Publicly available documents are distributed through the DTI websites predominantly in HTML and PDF to ensure that the information is as widely accessible as possible. On the main DTI website formal publications are available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/publications/.

We are proposing to archive and preserve electronic publications within the Department's electronic record and document management system in the format in which they were published. We will be reviewing this approach in discussion with the National Archives.