To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department’s expenditure on hospitality and entertainment was in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. (114074)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not keep centralised records of its overall expenditure on hospitality and entertainment worldwide.

The Government hospitality section of FCO services organises all official ministerial hospitality for the Government as a whole. In 1996-97 its costs amounted to approximately £430,000. In 2005-06 its costs amounted to £809,000, a figure which reflects increased activity due to the joint presidencies of the EU and the G8.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the budget of the Government hospitality section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was in each year since 1997-98. (114076)

The budget for Government hospitality’s service is drawn from the grant in aid payment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that funds both Government hospitality and VIP visits section, FCO services. This figure has not changed since 1997-98 and remains at £1.8 million.