asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost of printing and distributing the Budget statement at railway stations on 17 March; and what was the income from the sale of these pamphlets.
[pursuant to his reply, 25 March 1987, c. 216]: Summaries of the Budget were put on sale at Waterloo station on 17 March, price 20p, at an estimated cost of around £50. This was an experiment to test the market for such a summary undertaken in response to a recommendation by the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee that the Treasury, together with HMSO, should look into the possibility of further promotion of the Red Book and a perhaps revised Budget supplement to the Economic Progress Report. The income from sales was around £90, which it was agreed should be retained by the vendor for handling the experiment.