To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in her Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months. (193532)

Expenditure figures for the Home Office on overnight accommodation by civil servants and all Ministers for the financial year 2006-07 (the last 12 months for which audited figures are available) was £8.28 million.

These figures apply to the period prior to the machinery of government changes when the Department employed approximately 78,000 staff. They include information for the core Home Office, the Border and Immigration Agency, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the National Offender Management Service (the latter two are now part of the Ministry of Justice). The Home Office currently employs approximately 25,000 staff.

The requested staff and regional splits could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

When travelling on departmental business, officials are expected to make efficient and cost-effective accommodation arrangements.