§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the Government Ministers currently residing in publicly owned accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the precedents for the use of each property by Government Ministers, the reasons why the properties are so used and total annual cost in each case of the current and previous years of such use. [56376]
§ The Prime MinisterFor the terms on which official Government residences are occupied, and the precedent for the use of each property, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her on 9 March 1998,Official Report, columns 19–20. For a list of Ministers currently residing in publicly owned accommodation, I refer her to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth) on 23 April 1998, Official Report, columns 674–75. The list is unchanged except that my right hon. Friend the former President of the Board of Trade now occupies the same official residence in her role as the President of the Council. For details of the costs of maintaining such properties, I refer my hon Friend to the 402W answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) on 9 February 1998, Official Report, column 17. The cost of maintaining these properties in 1998–99 is estimated to be £1.2m.