To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what year the Central Office of Information established its list of accredited public relations companies for Government contracts. (257523)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.

Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated April 2009:

As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question [257523] asking in what year the Central Office of Information established its list of accredited public relations companies.

The Central Office of Information established its first framework of accredited public relations companies in 1997.