§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to public funds of travel expenses incurred by Ministers in his Department in(a) domestic journeys and (b) journeys abroad was in each year since 1997. [176659]
§ Hilary BennIn respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These reports give information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course.
For domestic travel the information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
All Ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.