Regional Ministers: Finance

Julia Goldsworthy
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial and other resources are available to regional Ministers to support them in the discharge of their duties.

Mr. Dhanda
[holding answer 25 February 2008]: Regional Ministers are not allocated separate budgets and their support costs are funded by their own Departments and the Government Office Network from within existing budgets. To provide a breakdown of the financial costs to support each regional Minister would incur disproportionate costs. In addition to the staff in their departmental Private Offices and Government Offices, each regional Minister, with the exception of the Minister for the North East of England, also has 40 hours per month from a dedicated GNN press officer.