asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether mission allowances and other expenses allowances paid to British Civil servants in the United States of America are intended to cover only the additional expenses reasonably incurred by a Civil servant living away from home, or whether they are also intended to cover any part of the recipient's normal living expenses?

The allowances issued to Civil servants sent to North America from this country are fixed solely in relation to the extra cost to which they are put by reason of their service abroad.