§ Mr. HallTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a list of all overseas visits made by all Ministers of his Department since 1990, including(a) details of the places visited and brief reasons for the visit, (b) details of the size, composition and cost 766W to public funds of the delegation and (c) the names of non-ministerial members of each delegation and the capacity in which each was present. [17484]
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 1 March 1996]The lists for the years 1992 to present have been placed in the Library of the House. Recovery of data for the years 1990 to 1992 would incur disproportionate costs. Details of the size, composition and function of each delegation would also incur a disproportionate cost. Business people accompanying Ministers are not normally paid for by public funds and the need for officials to accompany Ministers is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.