Departments: Travel Agents

Mr. Hoban
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies' fees in each year since 1997.

Mr. Thomas
Specific data for agency commission for the central travel contract for the Department for International Development is only available from 2003-04 as follows:

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|£000   |
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|2003-04|150|
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|2004-05|150|
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|2005-06|150|
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|2006-07|150|
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Between 1997 and 2003 the management charges were calculated on the basis of a combination of volume and savings incentives, but central records do not exist of the total fees paid during this period, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.