§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list all the overseas visits since December 1998 by hon. Members funded by the Government. [89842]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 5 July 1999]: I have accounted fully for all overseas travel undertaken by Ministers, including members of the official party and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry) on 17 June 1999, Official Report, columns 196–97. There is, however, no systematic and central record kept of every visit made by hon. Members which has funding support from a Government source.
In exceptional circumstances, hon. Members can receive funding from Government. These can include official events where representation wider than just the Government is warranted, for example the handover ceremony of Hong Kong where the Government paid for the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Liberal Democrats to attend.
Members may also occasionally travel abroad as members of an official party observing elections in emerging democracies. The costs of such visits are usually met by the respective Government or by a national or international sponsoring organisation such as the European Union or United Nations. Again, no records are available centrally for such costs.
Since December 1998, my Office has not funded any overseas visits by hon. Members.