Hotels

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2010, Official Report, column 1145W, on “Government Departments: Hotels”, if she will place in the Library a copy of the summary data on bookings made under the Expotel facility in respect of her Department in 2009. (318309)

The summary data for bookings made through the Cabinet Office's corporate contract with Expotel contain information including their commercial rates which must be treated as commercial in confidence.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 3 February 2010, Official Report, column 410W, on hotels, which sections of her Department made the 55 bookings for five star hotels; and which hotel was booked in each case. (318327)

Cabinet Office is periodically requested to answer questions which may relate to the involvement of sensitive work streams. In this instance the majority, of the bookings are sensitive.

In order to safeguard the effectiveness of both the security arrangements in place, and those involved in such areas, it has been the practice of successive governments not to disclose specific information concerning those involved or its associates.

This is in line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) as set out in Part II of the ‘Code of Practice on Access to Government Information’.