USA: Casinos

Mr. Swire
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library copies of the agenda and minutes of the meetings between officials from her Department who have met casino operators in the United States in the last two years; and who attended each meeting.

Mr. McCartney
No. The minutes of the meetings contain commercially confidential information, which cannot be released.

Since December 2004, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Los Angeles, including the consul-general, met representatives of two casino operators on three occasions. These meetings are detailed in the reply I gave to the hon. Member today (UIN 102084).

Mr. Swire
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have held with casino operators interested in securing licences under the Gambling Act 2005 in the last five years.

Mr. Hoon
I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade gave to him on 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 738W.