Christmas

Mr. Philip Hammond
To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office has spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in each of the last five years.

The Prime Minister
In 2006 my predecessor (the right hon. Tony Blair) sent approximately 1,700 official Christmas cards at a cost of £460. For previous years I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my predecessor on 19 December 2002, Official Report, column 936W; 20 December 2004, Official Report, columns 1350-1W and 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 63W.

For parties and decorations I refer to the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) today.