§ Mr. DjanoglyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many departmental Christmas cards he and his Ministers intend to send in 2002; how much these cards will cost(a) to buy, (b) to post and (c) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes; and if he will place in the Library a sample copy of the official Christmas card he has sent this year. [88109]
§ Mr. Stephen Twigg[holding answer 19 December 2002]: This year Ministers at the Department for Education and Skills sent around 1,550 official Christmas cards. These cards cost £1,659. The cards were sent via the governmental inter-departmental Service or the Royal Mail. No breakdown of the delivery methods is available which would enable an accurate assessment to be made of the postage costs. Equally no record is available of the staff time involved to sign, address and place cards in envelopes. A copy of the official Christmas card has been made available to the Library.
All expenditure incurred in the purchase and despatch of official Christmas cards is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".