§ Mr. A. Edwardsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allowances are made to officials and business men visiting the United States of America and Canada; if these allowances are based on the equivalent allowances made by the United States Government to men visiting this country; and why are different allowances made to single men and married men travelling alone?
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§ Sir K. WoodIt is assumed that the question relates primarily to the two highest grades of Civilian Mission Allowance issued in North America to persons sent from this country on Government business. The full rates for those grades are as follow:
Grade I. Married. Single. (applicable to certain senior posts only) $10.00 a night. $8.00 a night. Grade II. Married. Single. (applicable to officials—other than those in Grade I—who are eligible for the highest subsistance rates in this country) $8.00 a night. $6.50 a night. As regards the second part, the Mission Allowances are fixed in relation to the extra cost to which officers sent from this country are put by reason of their service in North America, and not in relation to allowances made by the United States Government for visits to this country.
The answer to the third part of the Question is that the differentiation between married and single, officers takes account of the special expenses to which the former are put by reason either of having two separate households to maintain or, if the family accompanies them abroad, of bearing a double incidence of the cost of living in the overseas country. The differentiation is not applied in the case of visits to North America of less than three months' duration.