Departmental Visits Abroad

Pete Wishart
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings overseas Ministers in his Department have attended since May 2007.

Ann McKechin
Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have been abroad since taking up our current offices. My hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (David Cairns) attended a range of meetings, briefings and events in his role as Minister of State at the Scotland Office while attending the Offshore Europe conference in Stavanger, Norway, from 25 to 27 August 2008. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne) attended a large number of overseas visits and meetings in his dual capacity as Secretary of State for Defence and Scotland.