asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many of his officials were sent to Brussels in 1978 to discuss EEC matters; what was the total man-days involved; and what was the cost to public funds of travel and subsistence, including sums reimbursed by the Commission.

This information is not readily available in the form required and could be extracted from our records only at disproportionate cost. For the financial year 1978–79, travel and subsistence expenditure by my Department on all EEC business is estimated at about £22,000. In this same period sums reimbursed by the Commission totalled £16,474.