§ Mr. HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a list of all overseas visits made by all Ministers of his Department since 1990, including(a) details of the places visited and brief reasons for the visit, (b) details of the size, composition and cost to public funds of the delegation and (c) the names of the non-ministerial members of each delegation and the capacity in which each was present. [17491]
§ Mr. HoramI refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney), then Minister for Health, gave the hon. Member for Newport, East (Mr. Hughes) on 3 November 1993 at columns222–24 for information covering the period April 1992 to mid-October 1993.
Information on the dates, destinations and purpose of visits made by my right hon. Friend and ministerial colleagues since mid-October 1993 is shown in the tables. The total cost of overseas travel by Ministers and private secretaries in each financial year is also shown.
Information on visits between 1990 and 9 April 1992 and full information on officials accompanying Ministers could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Financial year April 1993 to March 1994 Destination Purpose Minister of State for Health-Dr. Mawhinney 7–15 November 1993 USA Fact finding visit in connection with Ministerial responsibilities 13 December 1993 Brussels EC Health Council Total spend for 7 November to March 1994 £4,643
Financial year April 1994 to March 1995 Destination Purpose Secretary of State for Health—Mrs. Bottomley 17–18 November 1994 Brussels To address OECD High Level Conference of National Experts on Health Reform 1 December 1994 Paris Worlds Aids Summit 21–22 December 1994 Brussels EC Health Council 13–17 March 1995 Japan Trade Mission to promote inward investment (Prescribe UK) Minister of State for Health—Dr Mawhinney 4 March 1994 Dublin Meeting with Irish Health Minister 30 March 1994 Brussels EC Health Council—bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) meeting 19 June 1994 Helsinki European Conference on environmental health Parliamentary Under Secretary of State—Mr. Bowis OBE 3 February 1994 Strasburg European Council Meeting on Drugs 13 May 1994 Rhodes (Greece) EC Health Council Informal 2 June 1994 Luxembourg EC Health Council 30 June 1994 Amsterdam European Social Services Conference 15 September 1994 Berlin Informal Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Family Affairs 18–24 September 1994 Netherlands, Germany and Hungary Fact finding visit on child care, drug abuse and AIDS. Signing Health Cooperation Agreement in Hungary 3–8 January 1995 Lebanon Bilateral visit to Health Ministers and Lebanese Government and All Party Parliamentary Group visit arranged by the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding Parliamentary Under Secretary of State—Baroness Cumberlege CBE 3–4 May 1994 Geneva World Health Assembly 17–18 June 1994 Paris AIDS Summit Total annual spend £30,507
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Financial year April 1995 to date Destination Purpose Secretary of State for Health—Mrs. Bottomley 2–3 May 1995 Geneva World Health Assembly 29 May—2 June 1995 USA Fact finding visit in connection with Ministerial responsibilities Minister of State for Health—Mr. Malone 11–14 September 1995 Singapore Accompanied a Trade Delegation to promote International Trade and other health related issues. 14–16 September 1995 Thailand Accompanied a Trade Delegation to promote International Trade and other health related issues. 18–20 September 1995 Malaysia Accompanied a Trade Delegation to promote International Trade and other health related issues. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State—Mr. Sackville 25–28 April 1995 Hamburg Trade Mission to promote health exports. 13–16 November 1995 Hanover and Dresden Colombia To promote British Health exports and expertise. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State—Mr. Bowis OBE 1–2 June 1995 Luxembourg EC Health Council 22 June 1995 Copenhagen European Social Services Conference
Financial year April 1995 to date Destination Purpose 30–31 November 1995 Brussels EC Health Council 14 December 1995 Paris WHO Conference on alcohol Parliamentary Under Secretary of State—Baroness Cumberlege CBE 2–5 December 1995 South Africa Commonwealth Health Ministers Conference Total spend to end January 1996 £37,950