To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rates of travel allowance may be claimed by civil servants in his Department when using their vehicles for official business. [36355]

FCO—diplomatic wing and ODA—staff can claim the following rates when using their private vehicles for official business in the United Kingdom:

Private cars	Per mile
Public transport rate	22.3p
Standard rate (up to 4000 miles per year)	37.0p
Standard rate (over 4000 miles per year)	21.0p

Motor Cycles
Public Transport rate	Up to 125cc	Over 125cc only
(Up to 4000 miles per year)	14.1 per mile	21.8 per mile
(Over 4000 miles per year)	5.8 per mile	8.6 per mile

The standard rate for private cars is payable only when public transport is unavailable or impractical.Overseas mileage rates are calculated by individual diplomatic missions using a formula set by the Treasury and agreed with the Inland Revenue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the total cost of travel expenses claimed by civil servants using their own vehicles for official business in each of the last five years in his Department; and what would have been the saving in the last year if the maximum rate that could be claimed was set at the lowest rate. [36356]

The FCO—diplomatic wing and ODA—processed over 20,000 travel and subsistence claims during the financial year 1994–95. Information on payments made to staff who use their private vehicles for official business in that year and preceding years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.