§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will list by(a) date, (b) destination and (c) cost to the Exchequer of the chief executive of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist's visits to Europe since he was appointed in May 1991;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 9 November, Official Report, columns 603–5, what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the chief executive of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist's visits to (a) Japan and (b) the United States since he was appointed in May 1991.
§ Mr. EggarAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. D. Worswick to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 30 November 1992:
As these questions complement one another, it is more constructive for me to cover them in one reply.
The details of my overseas visits are as follows:
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Destination and date Cost (£K) Europe Eurolab, Berlin—22–24 May 1991 Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), Brussels—5–6 June 1991 BCR, Brussels—15–16 January 1991 Eurolab, Strasbourg—29–31 January 1992
Destination and date Cost (£K) Central Bureau of Nuclear Measurements, Geel—11–13 November 1992 TOTAL 2.4 USA Association of Analytical Chemists (AOAC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Analytical Laboratory Managers Association (ALMA)—21.25 October 1991 2.7 Japan High Level Mission—29 August/6 September 1991 4.4 The cost comprises travel and subsistence.
Many of the visits to Europe and the USA were made in connection with the Validity of Analytical Measurement initiative. The Laboratory undertakes this work for the Department of Trade and Industry on a customer-contractor basis. I am a UK representative on the BCR Management Committee and the Eurolab General Assembly. The High Level Mission to Japan was funded under the DTI's Overseas Science and Technology Expert Mission Scheme (OSTEMS). A report on this Mission was published in January 1992.
I hope this information is of assistance.