§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the Official Report a detailed list of actual payments, reimbursements and payments in kind received by Ministers of the Crown and their weekly or annual worth, covering such matters as houses, flats, living away from home expenses, cars, &c.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisDetails of official residences currently occupied by Ministers were given to my hon. Friend by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment on 1st November—[Vol. 918, c. 457]. As stated in that answer, it is not possible to assess a realistic rental for these types of property, and consequently no estimate of their annual worth can be given.
Ministers staying away from home on official duty are entitled to draw sub- 42W sistence allowance at the same rates as laid down for senior civil servants, but central records of this expenditure are not maintained, and to obtain the information would involve disproportionate cost.
Cabinet Ministers and some other senior Ministers have an official car allocated to them, the cost of which on average is £10,600 p.a. Junior Ministers may use cars from the Government car service pool. The estimated total cost of providing all ministerial cars is £760,000 p.a., but to give a breakdown of that figure as between individual Ministers would involve disproportionate cost.