§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on official hospitality in 1994–95 and the financial year to date; and what is the 1995–96 projected budget for official hospitality. [5581]
§ Mr. HoramFor the amount spent on hospitality expenditure for 1994–95, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to him on I May 1995,Official Report, column 23. Due to technical changes in the Department's accounting system, the figure given for the Department for 1994–95 covered 13 months' expenditure. In April the procedures for recording hospitality expenditure for the Department were changed so that hospitality expenditure was recorded separately from expenditure on working lunches. The amount of expenditure on hospitality to the end of November this financial years is:
£ Department 49,779 Agencies 44,097 Total 93,876 It is expected that hospitality expenditure for the Department will continue at the current rate for the remainder of the year. The agencies are projecting total expenditure for the year of the order of £75,000.