§ Dr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what guidelines he follows for using civil servants' time to arrange public meetings between Ministers in his Department and prospective parliamentary candidates in that candidate's prospective constituency; [144658]
(2) what his policy is towards ensuring political balance in public meetings with representatives of opposition parties organised and paid for through the civil service. [144659]
§ Mr. VazWe arrange such events in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code. If the hon. Member has specific concerns, perhaps he would like to tell me.
230W
§ Dr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidelines were followed by his Department when they issued an invitation to a public meeting on 18 December 2000 in Henley between the Minister for Europe, the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), Mr. Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Henley-on-Thames, and a leading representative from the Liberal Democrats. [144660]
§ Mr. VazParticipation in this event was conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code.
§ Dr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost, of publicity and civil servants time, setting up the debate on 18 December 2000 in Henley between the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) and the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate. [144661]
§ Mr. VazWe estimate that the cost of publicity and civil servants' time for the debate came to less than £300.