To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many domestic flights within Great Britain officials of her Department took in an official capacity in 2008-09; and at what cost to the public purse. (300972)

25,860 domestic flights were taken by Department for Work and Pensions staff, of whom there are some 111,000 throughout Great Britain, during 2008-09 at a total cost of £2.97 million. This has fallen from £4 million in 2004-05.

All official travel within the Department is carried out in accordance with the requirements of both the Civil Service Management Code

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/documents/doc/CSMC_April08.doc

and departmental business travel policy.

The Department's business travel policy promotes sustainable travel and air travel is the least preferred method of travel. Departmental policy is that staff should always consider travelling by rail rather than air and must take into account the full trip time (including travelling to and from the airport, checking time etc.), sustainability impact, business needs, convenience and cost when making this decision.