§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995,Official Report, column 750, if he will give a breakdown of the figure of £30,100 for official hospitality by his ministerial office and related agencies. [24445]
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§ Mr. WillettsThe figure of £30,100 given in my answer of 14 December represented expenditure on official hospitality by the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service, and its executive agencies—excluding HMSO—for the period 1 April 1995 to the end of November 1995. It was made up of £14,800 expenditure by the Cabinet Office—excluding the Prime Minister's Office—£4,000 by OPS agencies and £11,300 by the Central Office of Information.
§ Mr. BanksTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the answer of 25 March,Official Report, column 693, for whom the two dinners at Lancaster house were held; how many people attended; and what was the cost in each case. [24428]
§ Mr. WillettsThe Deputy Prime Minister hosted the dinners in question in order to discuss a range of competitiveness issues with a mix of senior public and private sector representatives. Seventeen people attended the first dinner, at a cost of £1,118.36. Eighteen attended the second, at a cost of £1,163.41.
The Deputy Prime Minister has also hosted one other lunch at Lancaster house, and a dinner at another venue, for a total of 22 people, from a similar range of backgrounds and to discuss other issues relating to national competitiveness, at a total cost of £1,204.53.