To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. (307516)

The Department is strongly committed to developing its staff and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and expertise they need to carry out their work. Away days and conferences make a significant contribution to such development.

Away days and conferences are typically arranged and booked by individual teams in the Department. No central records of these events are kept and to collect this information would incur disproportionate costs.