Overseas Travel (Hansard, 12 December 1997)

§ Mrs. Beckett

[holding answer 11 November 1997]: Disaggregated information in the form requested is not available for the Department and the non-departmental public bodies and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

I have asked Agency Chief Executives to reply to the hon. Member as they have their own budgetary responsibility for travel and subsistence costs.

Letter from John Holden to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 12 December 1997: I have been asked to respond to your question to the President of the Board of Trade regarding estimates of expenditure on overseas travel for Companies House. The information you seek is as follows:

Year	£
1991–92	26,195
1992–93	17,640
1993–94	20,949
1994–95	12,049
1995–96	11,984
1996–97	11,217
May to September 1997	4,024

Information on earlier years and a more detailed analysis can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Letter from Paul Hartnack to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 12 December 1997: I am replying for the Patent Office to your Question to the President of the Board of Trade about overseas travel. The total expenditure on overseas travel, including air fares and other associated expenditure is:

1992–93: £164,087
1993–94: £172,921
1994–95: £184,754
1995–96: £225,682
1996–97: £233,887
1 May to 30 September 1997: £107,966

Further disaggregation of the above and expenditure for 1980/81, 1987/88, 1990/91 and 1991/92 are not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Letter from Seton Bennett to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 12 December 1997: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory to your question about expenditure on overseas travel. I regret that the disaggregated information on the basis you request is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Letter from Peter Joyce to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 12 December 1997: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your question about The Insolvency Service's air fares and other overseas travel expenditure since 1980–81. Disaggregated information in the form requested is not available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Aggregated expenditure for 1996–97 was £23,000 and for 1997–98 (to 30 September 1997) was £6,000.

725W

Letter from Roger Louth to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 12 December 1997: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your Question about overseas travel and provide a breakdown to show 1) air fares and 2) other expenditure relating to overseas travel. I am replying on behalf of the Chief Executive, who is currently away from the office. The information for the Radiocommunications Agency, which is only available in an aggregated form, for the periods quoted is as follows:

1990–91: £243,100
1991–92: £399,185
1992–93: £425,000 (Note 1)
1993–94: £434,503
1994–95: £538,202
1995–96: £659,974
1996–97: £715,215
1997–98: (May to September): £287,121

Note 1 This figure is an estimate only as the information for that year is not readily available. The Radiocommunications Agency was set up with effect from 2 April 1990. Expenditure on overseas travel and subsistence before that date was the responsibility of the DTI and is not available.

Entertainment expenditure
	1987–88	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98 (May to September)
DTI (excluding NRC agencies and trading funds)	—	268,416	399,720	407,965	519,037	516,357	³462,509	³542,266	³135,410
Accounts Services Agency	—	300	300	300	300	300	⁴n/a	—	—
Companies House	—	²n/a	5,600	11,187	11,542	18,289	17,664	20,702	7,110
Laboratory of the Government Chemist	—	10,625	17,685	19,519	27,122	29,000	⁴n/a	—	—
National Engineering Laboratory	—	49,000	36,000	20,000	10,000	13,500	⁴n/a	—	—
National Physical Laboratory	—	35,300	45,881	48,408	70,221	83,799	⁴n/a	—	—
Patent Office	—	4,000	8,000	13,000	18,000	15,143	17,878	20,381	8,127
Radiocommunications Agency	—	23,900	21,993	27,592	33,575	35,921	87,291	98,401	36,201
National Weights and Measures Laboratory	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁵3,175	2,596
Total	¹300,000	391,541	535,971	547,971	689,797	712,309	585,342	684,925	189,444
¹ Information is approximate expenditure for the Department as a whole.
² Information not readily available for the six month period prior to attaining trading fund status in October 1991.
³ Information excludes expenditure in Government Offices which could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
⁴ Work previously carried out by the Accounts Services Agency and National Physical Laboratory was contracted out on 1 April and 1 October 1995 respectively. The National Engineering Laboratory was privatised on 31 October 1995 and the Laboratory of the Govnerment Chemist on 31 March 1996.
⁵ National Weights and Measures Laboratory became a Net Running Cost Agency on 1 April 1996.