§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of satellite and cable subscriptions in his Department's buildings in the UK and overseas in each year since 1997; and if he will list the premium channels to which his Department subscribes. [188328]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID subscribes to the Parliamentary TV System to allow access to the Parliamentary Annunciator System, the Division Bell and Commons and Lords TV channels in the UK. Other services and channels are included in the package: these are selected by the Information Committee of the Houses of Parliament. The annual costs of the subscription since 1997 are given in the table.
1520W
£ Amount 1997 1— 1998 19,770 1999 19,770 2000 220,500 2001 220,500 2002 20,500 2003 23,059 1No figures are available. 2Estimated figure. DFID has no other cable and satellite subscriptions in the UK and there is no central provision of cable and satellite services to overseas offices. Information about any local purchases overseas could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.