To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas visits were made by (a) officials and (b) Ministers within his responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997. (151647)

The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the “Civil Service Management Code” and the “Ministerial Code”. The Office does not maintain a central record of overseas trips by officials.