It is not possible to list the costs spent on chartering aircraft and non-scheduled air travel in each of the last five years without incurring disproportionate costs as the expenditure is not separately identifiable within the Department’s accounts.
Total overseas travel costs for civil servants for the Department, which includes Court Service (Her Majesty’s Court Service from April 2005), Public Guardianship Office and Department for Constitutional Affairs Headquarters, are set out in the following table:
Period Amount (£) 2005-06 164,098 2004-05 146,517 2003-04 140,267 2002-03 123,750 2001-02 83,513
In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the Reference of Members.
All Ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”, copies of which are available in the Library of the House for the reference of Members. All official travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the “Civil Service Management Code”, a copy of which is also available in the Library of the House for the reference of Members.