To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year. (302417)

The cost of maintaining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) entire web platform in the 2008-09 financial year was £1.45 million. This covers hosting, development and support costs.

The FCO's web platform is home to 250 websites, including cross-Government websites such as

www.londonsummit.gov.uk

www.actoncopenhagen.gov.uk

and our network of embassy and high commission websites. It is not possible to calculate the individual cost of the main corporate website.

The forecast cost of maintaining the 250 websites on the FCO web platform in 2009-10 is £1.45 million.

These costs do not include staff time spent updating the websites.