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Departmental Expenditure

Volume 270: debated on Monday 29 January 1996

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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total cost for himself and other departmental Ministers for each year since 1991–92, including the current year of (a) overseas travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers and their advisers, (b) car and chauffeuring costs of Ministers, (c) ministerial security costs and (d) domestic travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers. [6382]

Details of overseas visits by Ministers in my Department were set out in the answer of 19 July given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Knowsley North (Mr. Howarth), Official Report, columns 1369–75. The costs of visits overseas by Ministers falling to my Department since then, including the cost of officials where they can be identified, are as follows:

Secretary of State for Defence:£64,830
Minister of State for the Armed Forces:£95.228
Minister of State for Defence Procurement:£26,359
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence:£2.735
The cost of domestic visits by Ministers in each financial year since 1991–92 could be identified only at disproportionate cost. Costs falling to my Department since 1 April last year have been identified, however, and are as follows:

Secretary of State for Defence:£17,670
Minister of State for the Armed Forces:£14,702
Minister of State for Defence Procurement:£8,362
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence:£7,469

Note: Figures include overseas and domestic visits undertaken up to 20 December 1995.

The cost to my Department of ministerial security is not separately identifiable. Ministerial protection is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

Information on the cost of ministerial cars and chauffeurs was set out in the letter of 28 November 1995 from my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones), a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of running his departmental office, and that of his predecessor, for each year since 1990–91 including the current year, broken down into (a) telephone bills, (b) total staff costs, (c) press and communications, (d) entertainment, (e) alcoholic drinks, (f) non-alcoholic drinks, (g) stationery, (h) office refurbishment and (i) other. [6381]

Details of the cost of running my right hon. Friend's departmental office are not held in a form which would allow them to he identified separately for each financial year since 1991–92. The costs which have been identified for the last and present financial years are as follows:

1994–95 £1995–961 £
Telephone1,7571.083
Staff649,474383,961
Newspapers (including periodicals)1,017508
Stationery4,9577.653
Entertainment (including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks)1,911461
1To 31 October 1995.
The cost of refurbishing my right hon. Friend's own office in each of the financial years in question is as follows:

  • 1990–91: Nil
  • 1991–92: £380
  • 1992–93: £881
  • 1993–94: Nil
  • 1994–95: Nil
  • 1995–96: Nil1
  • 1to 31 October 1995.