§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the amount spent by(a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on hotel accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) others; and if he will list the average cost per hotel room, in each year since 1997. [117560]
§ Mr. CaplinThis information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Ministry of Defence operates a central hotel booking service and management information routinely provided by the contractor for the purposes of contract management enables a partial response to be given.
Although bookings made through this contract represent the majority of all UK temporary overnight hotel requirements, a significant amount of overnight accommodation—particularly short notice requirements—is still booked outside of the contract and no centrally held information is available. The figures shown in the table reflect military and civilian personnel regardless of their employing management group but exclude non-departmental public bodies which do not use the contract. The average cost per room per night is for bed and breakfast:
The Government publishes an annual report of Ministerial travel overseas. The total cost of Ministerial travel provided in the annual report includes the costs of accommodation. The information sought in respect of 115W accommodation within the UK is not held centrally. All travel is conducted in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.