§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list each of the overseas trips made by himself and other members of his ministerial team since 2 May, specifying in each case(a) the participating Minister or Ministers, (b) the destination of the trip, (c) the purpose of the trip and (d) the cost of the trip; and if he will make a statement. [15256]
§ Mr. HoonThe following overseas visits have been made by Ministers in the Lord Chancellor's Department since 2 May
1. (a) participating Minister: The Lord Chancellor, accompanied by a Private Secretary and Press Officer(b) destination: Hong Kong(c) purpose of trip: to express confidence in the HKSAR's enthusiasm to continue the Basic Law as expressed in the Joint Declaration in 1984. This stated that:The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be vested with executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of final adjudication. The laws currently in force in Hong Kong will remain basically unchanged".In particular, the Lord Chancellor discussed with the Chief Justice of Hong Kong arrangements for making sitting Law Lords available from the UK to sit judicially in Hong King. He also met leading politicians representing all the main interests in Hong Kong.(d) cost of the trip: £17,186.532. (a) participating Minister: Mr. Geoff Hoon, accompanied by a Private secretary and an official.(b) destination: Strasbourg and Potsdam(c) purpose of the trip: to participate in discussions on the European Court of Human Rights following implementation of Protocol 11 to the ECHR and to have discussions with MEPs and others on legal matters concerning the forthcoming UK Presidency of the EU.(d) cost of the trip: £2,560.30