§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list(a) details of all overseas trips made by him, or ministerial colleagues in his Department, paid for wholly or partly from public funds and (b) the purpose, destination and duration of such overseas trips, which officials accompanied him and the total cost in each case, including that of officials, to public funds for each year since 1992.
§ Mr. NewtonI visited Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong from 5 to 24 September 1992. The principal purpose of the visits to Australia and New Zealand was to meet my counterparts and to exchange experience in the field of procedural reforms, preparation and scrutiny of legislation etc. The principal purpose of the visit to Hong Kong was to study measures against drug misuse, in the context of my chairmanship of the Ministerial Committee on Drug Misuse; this visit was however curtailed by the recall of Parliament that year. The only official accompanying me was a private secretary. The cost to public funds was £20,904.
My right hon. and noble Friend Lord Wakeham, when Lord Privy Seal, visited Dubai from 24 to 26 April 1994 to open the "Britain in the Gulf' exhibition. The only official accompanying him was a private secretary. The cost to public funds was £2,619.
My right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal accompanied His Royal Highness the Duke of York to the French Government's 50th anniversary commemoration of the liberation of southern France from 13 to 15 August 1994. The only official accompanying him was a private secretary. Travel was in an aircraft of the queen's flight. There was no further cost to public funds.