HC Deb 06 August 1980 vol 990 cc222-4W
Mr. English

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give, for each of the following associated bodies of his Department, the cost of foreign travel, including accommodation and subsistence and entertainment by Ministers and civil servants, the cost of shorthand typists and the cost of non-employee advisers, on a similar basis to the categories of Select Committee expenditure included in the Estimates of the House of Commons, Class XII-A, and itemised in the reply to the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Mr. Bottomley), and the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat), Official Report, 9 July column 212: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, the Central Office of Information, the Government Actuary's Department, the Government Hospitality Fund, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the Civil Service Appeal Board, the Civil Service College Advisory Council, the Civil Service Medical Appeal Board, the Civil Service Medical Review Board, the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine, the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee, the Review Body on Armed Forces Pay, the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, the Review Body on Top Salaries, the Security Commission, the Three Advisers and the Advisory Committee on Advertising.

Mr. Channon

In respect of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, figures of likely expenditure in the form required by the question are not readily available but expenditure for 1979–80 under the various categories, as nearly as matched was as follows:

£
1. Foreign travel by Ministers NIL
2. Foreign travel by all grades in HMSO 13,750
3. UK travel by Ministers NIL
4. UK travel by all grades in HMSO 448,269
5. Entertainment abroad by all grades in HMSO 100
6. Entertainment in UK by all grades in HMSO 3,280
7. Salaries and wages of secretaries, typists and typing supervisory grades 319,762
8. Cost of non-employee advisers (i.e. consultants and free-lance workers) 122,289

The estimated expenditure in the financial year 1980–81 by the Central Office of Information on the lines of the categories itemised in the reply from the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, is as follows:

£
1. Foreign travel by Ministers NIL
2. Foreign travel by civil servants 72,000
3. UK travel by Ministers NIL
4. UK travel by civil servants 225,800
5. Entertainment by civil servants 6,900
6. Salaries and wages of secretaries and typists 482,700
7. Cost of non-employee advisers NIL
There are no identifiable costs under these headings attributable to the Advisor Committee on Advertising.

The estimated expenditure in the financial year 1980–81 by the Government Actuary's Department on the same lines is as follows:

£
1. Foreign travel by Ministers NIL
2. Foreign travel by civil servants 7,400
£
3. UK travel by Ministers NIL
4. UK travel by civil servants 4,800
5. Entertainment expenses 200
6. Official shorthand writers' expenses NIL
7. Specialist assistance NIL

The estimated expenditure in the financial year 1980–81 for the following bodies is included within the total expenditure for the Civil Service Department as detailed in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 28 July—Official Report, col. 471. Separate information for these bodies is not readily available:

  • Government Hospitality Fund
  • Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
  • Civil Service Appeal Board
  • Civil Service College Advisory Council
  • Civil Service Medical Appeal Board
  • Civil Service Medical Review Board
  • Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine
  • Political Honours Scrutiny Committee
  • Security Commission
  • The Three Advisers

The expenses of the secretariat to the following three pay review bodies are borne by the Office of Manpower Economics within the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment:

  • Armed Forces Pay
  • Doctors and Dentists Remuneration
  • Top Salaries

The expenses of the members of these bodies are my responsibility and the estimate for 1980– 81 for the relevant items is:

£
1. Travel, including accommodation and subsistence 7,600
2. Entertainment 90