§ Lord Maginnis of Drumglassasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 15 December 2004 (Official Report,col. WA 86) regarding the production of documents by the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Administration, why departments do not have information on the cost of commissioning and producing their documents, particularly more expensive "glossy" documents; and what steps are being taken to control such expenditure. [HL696]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)The Northern Ireland Office has spent the following on "publication" in each of the past three years. However, identifying how much of the expenditure was on "glossy" documents is not possible as records of the specific type or format of publication produced are not held.
£ 2001–02 290,572 2002–03 323,101 2003–04 331,291 2004–05 (up to Dec 2004) 204,634 The annual accounts of the 11 departments of the NI Administration do not identify expenditure on "publications" as an individual activity. Such spending is accounted for under a variety of headings such as advertising, public awareness campaigns, consultations or is incorporated into general day-to-day administration.
When producing a document, especially for public use, consideration is given to the intended audience. Issues such as aesthetics and quality are therefore taken into consideration.