To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what records his Department maintains of its expenditure on (a) official hospitality and (b) alcohol for official hospitality. (240465)

The Department for Work and Pensions maintains a separate account code within its ledgers in order to capture departmental expenditure on official hospitality.

The Department does not currently keep a separate record of expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes. Such expenditure is included within the hospitality account referred to above.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on Ministerial hospitality in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07 and (d) 2007-08, expressed in current prices. (241232)

The Department for Work and Pensions does not have a separate or identifiable account code in departmental finance records to distinguish ministerial hospitality from other forms of hospitality. To try and identify any such expenditure would incur a disproportionate amount of time and cost.

All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in “Managing Public Money”.