To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the standard overnight subsistence allowance expressed in pounds sterling which is payable to an hon. Member travelling on official business to (1) Berlin, (2) Bonn, (3) Brussels, (4) Lisbon, (5) Luxembourg, (6) Madrid, (7) Paris, (8) Rome and (9) Washington.

The standard overnight subsistence allowance payable to an hon. Member travelling on official business is the class A rate payable to senior staff in the home civil service. The rates are fixed by Her Majesty's Treasury and are regularly reviewed; they are normally expressed in the currency of the country to which they refer. For the current rates, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.