To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which periodicals his Department subscribes. (153092)

The Department currently takes 10 newspaper titles and 171 periodical titles through its library services. I am placing a copy of the full title listing of these in the Library of the House of Commons. Newspaper and periodical requirements are reviewed annually to ensure their continuing relevance to the Department’s changing business needs. As a result, some titles are cancelled and new ones subscribed to.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months. (153093)

DEFRA’s expenditure on newspapers and periodicals through its library services for the financial year 2006-07 was £72,000.

This figure excludes the spend on newspapers and periodicals by DEFRA local offices and the Department’s executive agencies. These figures could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost.