§ Mr. FormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (i) the number of visits made during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
§ Mr. JackAs the Minister responsible for Europe in the Department, I made the following visits between 28 October and 27 November: to Brussels on 6 November; and to Lisbon on 25–26 November, which involved an overnight stay.
§ Mr. FormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list (i) the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
§ Mr. JackThe latest available information relates to October 1991. The Department arranged 37 visits to European Community countries, of which 19 were to Brussels. Officials spent 58 nights away, although this figure includes additional overnight stays for officials also involved in non-European Community business, such as attending Council of Europe meetings. If the primary purpose of a visit is for European Community business, any additional stay for other business is not recorded separately.