§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the expenditure by(a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on official hospitality for (i) 1980–81, (ii) 1987–88, (iii) 1990–91, (iv) 1991–92, (v) 1992–93, (vi) 1993–94, (vii) 1994–95, (viii) 1995–96, (ix) 1996–97 and (x) 1 May to 30 September 1997, [15226]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 11 November 1997]]: Expenditure on hospitality by Ministers and officials is shown in the table.
MAFF 1980–81 n/a 1987–88 30,291 1990–91 54,420 1991–92 64,852 1992–93 72,986 1993–94 79,758 1994–95 64,092 1995–96 59,646 1996–97 70,104 1997–98 (May-September) 39,143 n/a = not available. These figures do not include the expenditure by the Department's Agencies nor its non-departmental public bodies. Agencies will respond independently. The Department does not hold information about its NDPBs, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Letter from Michael Finnigan to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on official hospitality within the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency (FRCA).FRCA is a new agency which came into being on I April 1997, and cannot, therefore show expenditure for financial years prior to 1997/98.For the period 1 May 1997 to 30 September 1997 expenditure on official hospitality was £5,805. This figure includes costs of refreshments for meetings, which are not separately identifiable from hospitality.Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), your question to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food concerning the level of expenditure on official hospitality for various periods has been passed to me for reply with regard to this Executive Agency.478WThe MHS was established as an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 1 April 1995. It therefore does not have any information on expenditure on official hospitality prior to 1995.I can advise you that the MHS spent the following sums, on an accruals basis on hospitality during the respective financial years:
Year Expenditure (£) 1995–96 5,750 1996–97 13,011 1 April 1997–30 September 1997 4,697 Letter from Dr. J. M. Rutter to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on official hospitality by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, for (i) 1980–81, (ii) 1987–88, (iii) 1990–91, (iv) 1991–92, (v) 1992–93, (vi) 1993–94, (vii) 1994–95, (viii) 1995–96, (ix) 1996–97 and (x) 1st May to 30th September 1997, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.The Directorate was established as a Next Steps Agency on 2 April 1990 and did not maintain its own accounts until 1991/92. Since that date expenditure on official hospitality is as follows:
£ 1991–92 1,239 1993–94 1,035 1994–95 1,817 1995–96 123 1996–97 186 1 May 1997–30 September 1997 Nil The figures shown for the years up to 1994–95 included the cost of lunches for industry liaison meetings and advisory groups which is now accounted for separately.Letter from P. W. Greig-Smith to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
In response to your Parliamentary Question on official hospitality, I have been asked to provide you with the relevant figures covering the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). These are as follows:
£ 1980–81 n/a 1987–88 n/a 1990–91 1,000 1991–92 645 1992–93 213 1993–94 1,645 1994–95 1,491 1995–96 1,292 1996–97 1,614 1997–98 April-September 1,026 n/a = not available. Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question concerning expenditure incurred by PSD on official hospitality.479WThe Directorate was launched as an Executive Agency on 1 April 1993. Figures prior to this date are not available. Expenditure from this date is set out below:
Year £ 1993–94 380 1994–95 422 1995–96 1,269 1996–97 1,609 1997–98(May to September) 964 Letter from P. I. Stanley to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), to your question concerning expenditure on official hospitalityExpenditure prior to 1992, when CSL was first launched as an Agency, is included in Departmental Figures. The Agency was significantly enlarged and relaunched in 1994 and collocated to a new side between 1996 and the summer of 1997.Expenditure on hospitality within CSL is shown below:
Year £000 1992–93 4.2 1993–94 4.7 1994–95 12.5 1995–96 23.6 1996–97 9.4 1997–98(May -September) 4.0 Expenditure on hospitality in 1995–96 includes the cost for the Visiting Group to CSL's Agriculture and Environment Directorate. The purpose of Visiting Group was to assess the quality and management of the science delivered by Directorate.Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 8 December 1997:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on expenditure by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) on official hospitality.The VLA was launched as an Agency on I October 1995 as a result of the merger between the Central Veterinary Laboratory, already an Agency since April 1990, and the Veterinary Investigation Service, which was formerly part of the State Veterinary Service.Figures for expenditure on hospitality are as follows:
£ 1993–94 16,720 1994–95 12,076 1995–96 18,900 1996–97 27,152 May-September 1997 14,392 Figures prior to 1993–94 are included in MAFF figures. Figures from 1996–97 include the Veterinary Investigation Service following the merge in 1995.