§ Mr. Peter Reesasked the Minister for the Civil Service for which Ministers of the Crown benefits are provided; if he will list the benefits under the following heads: living or other accommodation, entertainment, domestic or other services, the availability of a car for private use by himself or members of his family or household, and other benefits and facilities of whatever nature; and if he will give the estimated current annual cost of providing each benefit.
§ Mr. Charles R. Morris:The information is as follows:
Living or other accommodation
Living or other accommodation is traditionally provided as follows:
PRIME MINISTER: No. 10 Downing Street and Chequers.
CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: No. 11 Downing Street.
133WSECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS: No. I Carlton Gardens and Dorneywood.
LORD CHANCELLOR: A flat in the Palace of Westminster.
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SCOTLAND: Bute House, Edinburgh.
Three flats are provided in Admiralty House for ministerial use, and two are at present occupied by the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Chequers, Dorneywood and Bute House are administered by trusts. Contributions from public funds are made to the upkeep of Chequers and Bute House.
Entertainment
Ministers are not personally provided with funds for entertainment, although £5,000 of the Prime Minister's salary is free of tax to meet expenses incurred in that office, including entertainment. The cost of official entertainment extended by Ministers is met either by the Government Hospitality Fund or from Departmental Votes.
Domestic or other services
No domestic service is provided from public funds.
Cars
Ministers may not normally use official cars for private journeys, but where it is necessary to do so for security reasons, they bear the extra cost of such journeys personally.
Other facilities
No other benefits or personal facilities are provided for Ministers. It is not possible at present to segregate the costs relating to the residential and official uses of the accommodation provided.