§ Mr. MaplesTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the occasions since 1 May 1997 on which a Minister in his Department has used(a) an aircraft belonging to the RAF and (b) a privately chartered aircraft together with (i) details of the take-off and destination points, (ii) ground waiting time, (iii) dates of departure and return, (iv) purpose of the trip, (v) cost of the trip to his Department and (vi) details of people accompanying the Minister, indicating the total costs of all such travel borne by his Department (1) since 1 May 1997 and (2) between 1 May 1996 and 1 May 1997. [55559]
890W
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 19 October 1998]: This Question could be answered in full only at disproportionate cost. Ministers are required under the terms of the Ministerial Code always to make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. The rules on travel for Ministers are the same as those that applied under the previous Administration.
Between 2 May and 30 September 1998, Ministers in this Department have used RAF aircraft/private charter aircraft on the following occasions:
Date Destination Purpose Numbers accompanying Minister January 1998 Bonn European Aerospace and Defence Restructuring meeting 2 February 1998 Liverpool to London Visit to Liverpool 1 February 1998 Madrid-Lisbon European Aerospace and Defence Restructuring meeting and EU Presidency meeting 5 May 1998 Berlin Airbus Ministers meeting and Air Show 3 May 1998 Paris WTO Conference 3 June 1998 Luxembourg Social Affairs Council 1 July 1998 Paris European Aerospace and Defence Restructuring meeting and Air Show 2 July 1998 Berlin European Solutions to German Challenges Conferences 2 July 1998 Swakupmond to Windhoek Meeting with South African Minister of Trade 1 September 1998 Farnborough Farnborough Air Show 1 The average cost of the flights taken to meet these trips for the 17 months between May 1997 and September 1998 is £2,204 compared to an average cost of £6,049 under the last year of the previous Administration.