HC Deb 04 December 1995 vol 268 cc52-4W
Mr. Redmond

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for each his executive agencies for the last financial year in resret of overseas travel by agency staff(a) the costs of the travel, (b) tie countries visited and (c) the posts held by foe staff concerned. [2287]

Mr. Douglas Hogg

Responsibility for this maucr is delegated to agency chief executives and 1 have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.

Letter from George Trevelyan to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your question about overseas travel made by staff in this Agency for the last financial year as this matter is within my operational responsibility.The total cost of overseas travel between 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995 was £77,986.Countries visited by Agency managers were Belgium, Denmark, Eire, France, Greece, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United States.In all, 62 managers were involved with official business visits and a number of these visited several of the countries concerned over the year. These include the Agency's Finance Director, Chief Accountant, Finance Policy Adviser, Finance Group Managers, Finance Managers, the Head of Information Systems, Group Manager Business Systems, Group Manager IT Development, Information Systems Contracts and Procurement Manager, Computer Services Senior Accounts Manager, Internal Market Director, Head of Internal Market Operations, Internal Market Group Manager, Scheme Managers, Technical Services Managers, Deputy Technical Services Manager, Procurement Manager, Head of External Operations, Group Managers External Operations, External Operations Scheme Managers, Group Manager Anti-Fraud Unit and Anti-Fraud Unit Scrutineers.

Letter from Phillip Needham to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply on behalf of this Agency to your Parliamentary Question number 62. In this you sought details for this Agency, for the last financial year, for a) the cost of travel, b) the countries visited and c) the post held by the staff concerned in respect of overseas travel.(2287)ADAS was formed as an Executive Agency in April 1992 and is jointly owned by MAFF and the Welsh Office. It undertakes a broad range of consultancy and R&D work for commercial customers as well as government.In recent years, ADAS has been heavily involved in overseas work mostly in Central and Eastern Europe. The majority of work concentrates on consultancy to the emerging governments in matters related to re-structuring of agriculture and food production. Approximately £1.4 million of ADAS income derives from this source. The Agency incurs approximately £200,000 per annum in travelling expenses. These are relating to visits made by ADAS in order to secure future business, visits made to deliver consultancy services and visits to International conferences where these are required to update the professional knowledge of ADAS staff.

Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), I have been asked to respond to your question regarding overseas travel with respect to this Agency.As you may know, the MHS was established as an Executive Agency of MAFF on 1 April this year. Since that time there has been no overseas travel by any member of staff.

Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question about overseas travel.During the 1994/95 financial year the cost of overseas travel undertaken by PSD staff totalled £42,339. Details of the countries visited and the posts held by the officers concerned could only be provided at disproportionate cost but the greater part of this expenditure relates to attendance at meetings in Brussels.

Letter from J. M. Rutter to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about the costs of overseas travel by staff of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the countries visited, and the posts held by the staff concerned, as these are operational matters for which I am responsible.The cost of overseas travel, including subsistence, in 1994/95 was £126,863.82. Full details of the countries visited and the posts held by the staff involved could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The main element of overseas travel however, was by immunological inspectors (Grade 7 equivalent) in the VMD, carrying out inspections of manufacturing premises for immunological veterinary medicines in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and in Europe, and by staff, mainly at Grade 7 level and above, attending meetings of scientific, Commission and Council working groups in Brussels. In both cases, all or part of the travel costs is recovered from the companies involved or from the Commission.

Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on overseas travel by staff in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (known as the Central Veterinary Laboratory until 30 September 1995).In the last financial year, overseas travel costs in the Central Veterinary Laboratory amounted to £40,008. Due to internal management restructuring we have only been tracking the costs from the beginning of this financial year and, consequently, are not able to provide any further breakdown. However, the posts held by staff and the countries visited will be varied as we consider overseas travel, for the purpose of attending conferences and presenting papers, an essential component of the scientific development of staff.

Letter from Professor P. I. Stanley to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:

You asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to provide information for each of his executive agencies relating to overseas travel by agency staff in the last financial year. The Minister has asked me to reply to you in respect of his Central Science Laboratory (CSL) Agency as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.In 1994–95:
  1. (a) The total cost of overseas travel was £175,779.
  2. (b) Countries visited were: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA.
  3. (c) The posts held by staff concerned were 109 scientific and 3 administrative. The main purpose of overseas travel was either to present scientific papers at conferences or to represent the UK in EU meetings.