Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June,Official Report, columns 82–83, and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, on which of the visits by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh the Royal Yacht and the Queen's Flight were used; and to what extent.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydAircraft of the Queen's flight were used for travel from the United Kingdom in the case of each of the visits listed. In the case of the visit to Malta, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh embarked on the royal yacht in Palermo, Italy, and continued to use it throughout the visit. In the case of the visit to France, the royal yacht was used while the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Bordeaux. In the case of the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to the Caribbean, the royal yacht was used throughout the visit.
Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his 239W answer of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, into what categories his Department divides the expenditure on visits by members of the royal family.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydExpenditure by the Department in support of official overseas visits undertaken by members of the royal family falls into the following categories:
- (a) travel
- (b) hotel expenses
- (c) official presents and donations
- (d) salaries—additional staff
- (e) bank, postal, telephone and telegraph charges
- (f) miscellaneous (insurance, reconnaissance visits partly for security purposes, and so on)
Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June,Official Report, columns 82–83, and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, whether clothing formed part of the costs incurred by Government Departments in respect of visits by members of the royal family.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydYes.
Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June,Official Report, columns 82–83 and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, which costs of the visits made by members of the royal family were met by other Government Departments; and if he will list the Departments.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWith the exception of visits by the Duke of Kent, no costs of overseas official visits undertaken by members of the royal family during the financial year 1992–93 were met by other Government Departments except for the costs of the royal yacht, the Queen's flight and other RAF aircraft, which were met by the Ministry of Defence. The costs of the visits by the Duke of Kent to Japan and Germany as vice-chairman of the British Overseas Trade Board were met by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 7 June,Official Report, columns 82–83, what was the cost to his Department of each of the visits taken by (a) the Prince and Princess of Wales, (b) Prince Edward, (c) the Princess Royal, (d) Princess Margaret, (e) the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, (f) the Duke of Kent and (g) Princess Alexandra; on which of these visits the Queen's Flight was used; which Department bore the international travel costs; and what was the involvement of the Royal Yacht.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe information is as follows.
The cost to the Department of the overseas visits undertaken by the members of the Royal Family as listed is as follows:
240W
Country Date Cost £ The Prince and Princess of Wales Egypt 10–15 May 26,600 Korea 2–5 November 57,600 Hong Kong 5–7 November 12,700 France 13–15 November 2,400 France 17–19 November 1,400 United States of America and Mexico 12–18 February 22,600
Country Date Cost £ Nepal 2–6 March 9,900 The Prince Edward British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Western Samoa 2–18 October 27,000 The Princess Royal Norway, Sweden, Finland 11–19 May 9,400 India 10–15 September 23,200 The Princess Margaret The Netherlands 23–25 June 3,900 The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester Belgium 12–13 October 4,700 The Duke of Kent Japan 14–23 May Nil Italy 30 June–1 July 6,700 Germany 9–10 November Nil Princess Alexandra United States of America 22–25 April 23,000 Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada 30 October—7 November 35,200 All these visits involved use of the Queen's flight/RAF aircraft and scheduled flights, except for that by the Duke of Kent to Italy, which involved only the former. The costs of the Queen's flight and other RAF aircraft are met by the Ministry of Defence. The costs of scheduled flights are met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The royal yacht was used during the visit to Mexico by the Prince of Wales.
Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 7 June,Official Report, columns 82–83, if he will list the official engagements on each visit by (a) the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, (b) the Prince and Princess of Wales, (c) Prince Edward and (d) the Princess Royal.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI shall write to the right hon. Gentleman with details.