§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) special advisers, (b) task force members and (c) review body members his Department employs; what are the total salaries and benefits of (a) to (c); and what was the equivalent cost prior to 1 May 1997. [26177]
§ Mr. Robin CookMy Department employs two special advisers. Details were set out in the answer given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 13 November 1997,Official Report, columns 615–17.
For information on the total pay bill for special advisers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Members for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) and for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 November 1997, Official Report, columns 472–73.
No task force members are employed by my Department, and we are not responsible for any review bodies.
Dates Minister Venue Purpose of visit Spouse cost including travel and incidentals (£) 1994 7–10 July The then Foreign Secretary Lord Hurd Italy (Naples) G7 Economic Summit 307.84 11–20 September Lord Hurd Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Japan Bilateral 10,495.66 26–29 September Lord Hurd USA (New York) UNGA 3,977.66 29–30 September Lord Hurd Canada Bilateral 209.64 Total 14,990.80 1995 18–19 March Lord Hurd France (Carcassonne) EU/FM Informal Meeting 966.44 18–28 March Lord Hurd South Africa State Visit 2,385.28 7–8 May Lord Hurd Norway (Oslo) Accompanying TRH Duke and Duchess of Kent 98.16 25–26 June Lord Hurd Germany (Bonn) Anglo-German Summit 565.00 8–10 September The then Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind Spain (Santander) EU Ministers Informal Weekend 2,310.00 Total 6,324.88 1996 3–12 January Sir Malcolm Rifkind Azerbaijan, Armenia Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and China Bilateral 7,366.70 6–12 January Sir Malcolm Rifkind Hong Kong and China Bilateral 4,956.00 8–10 March Sir Malcolm Rifkind Malta and Italy Bilaterals and EU Foreign Minister's Informal Meeting 1,577.50 25–29 March Sir Malcolm Rifkind Poland and Czech Republic State Visit 835.00 8–17 April Sir Malcolm Rifkind Barbados, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia Bilateral 12,757.89 6–8 September Sir Malcolm Rifkind Irish Republic (Tralee) Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers 724.26 23–27 September Sir Malcolm Rifkind USA (New York) United Nations General Assembly 4,454.02 27 October—1 November Sir Malcolm Rifkind Thailand (Bangkok) State Visit 1150.00 31 October—2 February Sir Malcolm Rifkind Vietnam, Israel UAE and Yemen Bilateral 17,500.00 Total 40,301.37 1997 31 January—2 February Sir Malcolm Rifkind Switzerland (Davons) World Economic Forum 4,405.00 15–16 March Sir Malcolm Rifkind Netherlands (Apledoorn) EU Information Foreign Ministers Meeting 848.48 Total 5,253.48 1 Estimate