To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the estimated marginal cost of opening Parliament for visitors during the summer adjournment was in 2008; and how much income was received from paying visitors during that period. (292017)

The cost of running the summer opening programme in 2008 was £736,026 and the income received from paying visitors was £733,783.

The summer opening programme runs as a cost-neutral (self-financing) operation, the strategy being to break even over a three-year period. The current three-year period, for this purpose, is 2007-09.