HC Deb 17 November 2003 vol 413 cc478-9W
Mr. Flight

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was to his Department for(a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123073]

Mr. Hain

The Wales Office was created in July 1999.(a) I refer the hon. member to the reply which he received from Mr. N Matheson of the Government Car and Dispatch Agency (a copy of which can be found in the Libraries of the House of Commons) which addressed this issue.

(b) Cost to the department of taxis
£
1999–20001 310
2000–01 1,266
2001–02 2,851
2002–03 796
20032- 912
1 From July 1999
2 To date

These figures exclude any amounts spent on taxis, black cabs and licensed hackney carriages outside departmental contracts and reclaimed by officials as travel and subsistence expenditure. That information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

(c) Cost to the department of trains
1999–20001 35,239
2000–01 62,121
2001–02 84,423
2002–03 124,035
2003– 67,895
1 From July 1999
2 To date

(d)and (f) The Wales Office has never used helicopters or chartered planes.

(e) Cost to the department of air line tickets
£
1999–20001 105
2000–01 6,851
2001–02 5,283
2002–03 695
20032- 95
1 From July 1999
2 To date

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