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Departmental Official Hospitality

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 15 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 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. (241240)

Government hospitality in protocol directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) recorded the following expenditure on official hospitality for all Government Departments, including new stock purchased for the Government wine cellar, for the previous four financial years:

£

2004-05

869,418

2005-06

809,529

2006-07

592,592

2007-08

525,568

The FCO does not maintain a central record of other hospitality expenditure, and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost. However, all FCO staff are bound by official guidance which ensures that the provision of food and beverages at public expense is appropriate and cost effective.