§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many visits abroad have been made by Ministers in his Department in the years 1983–84 and 1984–85 to date.
§ Sir George YoungDOE Ministers carried out 13 official engagements overseas during 1983–84 and 17 during 1984–85.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of ministerial hospitality in his Department in the years 1983–84 and 1984–85 to date.
§ Sir George YoungI shall answer this question shortly.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of furnishing Ministers' offices in his Department in each year since 1979–80.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe information is as follows:
Year Cost (excluding VAT) £ 1979–80 2,576 1980–81 518 1981–82 2,022 1982–83 5,794 1983–84 14,044 1984–85 8,975
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of providing Ministers' cars in his Department in each year since 1979–80; how many cars are provided; and how many trips have been made outside London.
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§ Sir George YoungThe numbers and costs of the cars in the years concerned are as follows:
Number £ 1979–80 6 92,040 1980–81 7 131,040 1981–82 7 138,580 1982–83 6 143,520 1983–84 6 164,450 1984–85 6 155,150 Separate records of the trips made outside London are not maintained.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment which grades of civil servants in his Department are allowed to have official supplies of alcohol in their offices; how much has been spent by his Department in each year since 1979–80 on such items.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe permanent Secretaries of the Department each have authorised drinks cabinets. They may authorise such expenditure on the part of other senior officers: one such authorisation has currently been given.
Records of expenditure of this kind prior to 1982–83 are incomplete; expenditure from 1982–83 has been as follows:
£ 1982–83 110 1983–84 235 1984–85 435
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent on official supplies of alcohol to Ministers' offices in this Department in each year since 1979–80.
§ Sir George YoungExpenditure on Departmental Ministers' drinks cabinets, which include non-alcoholic drinks, has been as follows:
£ 1979–80 1,511 1980–81 1,728 1981–82 2,184 1982–83 2,188 1983–84 1,905 1984–85 2,003
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of staffing and maintenance of Ministers' offices in his Department for each year since 1979–80.
§ Sir George YoungI shall answer this question shortly.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment which Civil Service grades in his Department are allowed to make charges for official hospitality; and how much was spent on official hospitality by civil servants in each year since 1979–80.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneExpenditure on official hospitality other than tea and coffee at official meetings is subject to the approval of at least an assistant secretary and normally a higher grade. The total spent on official hospitality by the Department (including the PSA and costs incurred by Ministers) since 1979–80 has been: 329W
£ thousands 1979–80 83 1980–81 88 1981–82 94.4 1982–83 108.8 1983–84 98.5 1984–85 *108.6 * Estimated outturn. These figures are in cash terms.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many official cars are maintained by his Department; what is the total annual cost; and who uses them.
§ Sir George YoungSix ministerial cars and one permanent secretary car costing £175,430 per annum. In addition the Building Research Establishment operates four official cars but the costs are not separately identified in its budget. The cars are used by:
- The Secretary of State
- Ministers of State (3)
- Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State (2)
- Permanent Secretary (1)
- Authorised staff of the Building Research Establishment (4)
This is exclusive of the 1,450 cars operated by The Crown Suppliers for the use of other Government Departments and other public sector bodies.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost to his Department in each year since 1979–80 of toilet rolls, disposable cups, stationery, teabags, office furniture, newspapers and periodicals.
§ Sir George YoungThe information for DOE Central is as follows:
Stationery * Office Furniture Newspapers and Periodicals £ £ £ 1979–80 † ‡ 99,700 1980–81 607,284 ‡ 110,400 1981–82 461,471 ‡ 91,500 1982–83 503,796 ‡ 105,600 1983–84 507,163 736,526 91,200 1984–85 273,565 ≑ •824,400 105,600 Notes: * Includes the cost of toilet rolls for which no separate figures are available. † stationery was provided by HMSO on Allied Service terms under which costs were not passed onto Departments. ‡ cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. ≑ a contributory factor to the reduction this year is the establishment of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission. ¶ separate information for the cost of disposable cups and tea bags in not available. • Estimated.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent by his Department on telephone calls in each year since 1979–80.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe cost of British Telecom calls in the Department (including the PSA) since 1979–80 has been:
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Year £ thousands 1979–80 2,759 1980–81 3,784
Year £ thousands 1981–82 3,813 1982–83 3,787 1983–84 3,626 * 1984–85 3,474 * estimated outturn These figures are in cash terms.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent on postage by his Department in each year since 1979–80.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe cost of postage in the Department (including the PSA) since 1979–80 has been:
Year £ thousands 1979–80 1,316 1980–81 2,265 1981–82 2,168 1982–83 1,739 1983–84 1,314 *1984–85 1,335 * estimated outturn These figures are in cash terms.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost to his Department of official travel in each year since 1979–80.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe cost of official travel and subsistence in the Department (including PSA) since 1979–80 has been:
£ thousands 1979–80 9,698 1980–81 10,535 1981–82 10,087 1982–83 11,064 1983–84 11,088 1984–85* 9,461 * Estimated outturn. These figures are in cash terms.