To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in her Department in each of the last 10 years. (215227)

Centrally held records of the amount claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in this Department are available for the previous five financial years, and are as follows. Information for earlier years would incur a disproportionate cost.

Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the Department's staff handbook, and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The code can be viewed at:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/csmc/index.asp