§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the official visits to China since 1 May 1997, specifying for each occasion (i) the(a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) numbers of officials who attended, (ii) the matters discussed and conclusions reached and (iii) the cost of the visit. [99130]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 23 November 1999]: Under the terms of the "Ministerial Code", any member of the Cabinet who wishes to be absent from the United Kingdom for any reason, except for visits to European countries on official business, or visits to member countries for NATO business requires my written approval. Other Ministers who propose to be absent from the country must seek the approval of the Ministerial Head of the Department concerned. A list of visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during the period May 1997 to March 1999 was placed in the Library of the House on 17 June 1999. Since then two Cabinet Ministers, the Secretary of State for Trade and 13W Industry and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport have visited China at an estimated cost of £34,000. This includes the cost of travel and accommodation for a Private Secretary accompanying each Minister and in the case of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, a Special Adviser. Both visits were made in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code".
Detailed information on visits overseas by Junior Ministers is not collected centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.