§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits abroad each Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, made during 1993; and what was(a) the cost to public funds and (b) the purpose of each visit.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydMy right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg), made 20 official visits abroad to 33 countries during 1993 at a total cost of £27,667. Ten visits were for bilateral discussions, five for international conferences and five for European Community meetings.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Tristan Garel-Jones) made 11 official visits abroad to 17 countries during 1993 at a total cost of £20,550. Five visits were for bilateral discussions, three for European Community meetings, two for international conferences and one to the European Parliament.
My hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) made 19 official visits abroad to 23 countries during 1993 at a total cost of £21,504. Ten visits were for European Community meetings, eight for bilateral discussions and one to the European Parliament.
My right hon.Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr. Goodlad), made eight official visits abroad to 14 countries during 1993 at a total cost of £46,090. These visits were primarily for bilateral discussions but included attendance at one international conference.
I made eight official visits abroad to 11 countries during 1993 at a total cost of £29,147. Six visits were for bilateral discussions and two for international conferences.
FCO Ministers are always accompanied by an official or officials whose costs are not included in these figures. Details of the overseas visits made in 1993 by my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development will be given in answer to the hon. Member's separate question on that subject.