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Departments: Visits Abroad

Volume 464: debated on Monday 8 October 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas visits were made by (a) officials and (b) Ministers within his responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997. (151659)

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, since April 2004 my Department has recorded the total cost of overseas travel by air and train by Ministers and officials. This information is set out in the following table. The majority of the journeys in question were made between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Information on the cost of car travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is not held centrally.

Flights

Cost (£)

Rail

Cost (£)

Total (£)

April 2004 to December 2004

186

146,770.93

112

5,079.64

151,850.57

January 2005 to December 2005

313

268,801.48

60

3,003.19

271,804.67

January 2006 to December 2006

196

181,005.94

173

9,650.74

190,656.68

January 2007 to June 2007

111

129,568.49

92

3,553.50

133,121.99

In addition, 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. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.