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Departmental Visits Abroad

Volume 492: debated on Friday 15 May 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what mechanisms have been in place for the payment of expenses to Ministers and officials in his Department at regional meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank in the last 10 years; (274381)

(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by his Department to Ministers and officials on the acceptance of expenses payments at the meetings of multilateral development banks.

Travel to multilateral development banks, including the Inter-American Development Bank and Asian Development Bank, is considered to be the same as any international travel undertaken by Ministers and officials of the Department for International Development's (DFID) business. DFID arranges and meets the costs of this travel and other expenses, which are accounted for against receipts.

It is not DFID policy for Ministers or officials to claim expenses from the multilateral development banks. Accommodation is, however, sometimes provided by the host bank for their annual meetings.