§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of hotel accommodation for departmental staff working away from home in each of the last four years. [41061]
§ Mr. LeslieEstimated expenditure on hotel accommodation incurred by departmental staff while on official business since 1997 is as follows:
Year £000 1997–98 132 1998–99 122 1999–2000 172 2000–01 206 The Department is responsible for meeting the subsistence costs for staff who necessarily incur expenses while away from their office on official business. All hotel accommodation expenditure incurred meets the value for money criteria as set out in Chapter 9 of the Cabinet Office Management Code.
The rise in hotel accommodation expenditure is mainly a result of the Cabinet Office's widening span of responsibilities in recent years. There has been a corresponding rise in necessary travel on official business by an increased staff resource. See following table:
Year Percentage increase in staff numbers 1 April 1997 to April 1998 3.4 April 1998 to April 1999 47.0 April 1999 to April 2000 12.0 April 2000 to April 2001 5.0 1 Agencies staff numbers excluded The increases in staff numbers have been in existing units whose roles have expanded and in new management units that have been introduced through new Government initiatives. In particular the increase between April 1998 and April 1999 is due to expansion of existing policy units such as the Social Exclusion Unit and Performance and Innovation Unit; and the transfer of units to the Cabinet Office such as the Women's Unit and the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit.