The amount the Department spent on purchasing Christmas cards for 2007 (inclusive of VAT) was £4,478.27.
All expenditure incurred in the purchase and postage of official Christmas cards is made in accordance with the Department's guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in government accounting.
Separate figures for postage costs are not available, as some cards would have been included with other correspondence or would have been hand-delivered. The vast majority of those that were not included with correspondence were sent using second-class post.