HC Deb 30 March 2001 vol 365 cc795-7W
Ms Rosie Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many overseas visits, and to which countries, the Minister for Europe has undertaken on official business since assuming his office. [156762]

Mr. Vaz

The information is in the table.

Overseas travel: Keith Vaz MP—Minister forEurope
Serial number Dates Location
01 14–15 October 1999 Tampere
02 18 October 1999 Hungary
03 19–20 October 1999 Warsaw
04 31 October—01 November 1999 Yerevan
05 08–09 November 1999 Paris
06 15–16 November 1999 Brussels
07 17 November 1999 Strasbourg
08 20–21 November 1999 Florence
09 23 November 1999 Luxembourg
10 09—11 December 1999 Helsinki
11 16–18 January 2000 Rome
12 19–20 January 2000 Athens
13 22 January 2000 Paris
14 24–25 January 2000 Brussels
15 30 January—05 February 2000 India
16 14 February 2000 Brussels
17 18 February 2000 Zagreb
18 28 February—01 March 2000 Washington
19 15–16 March 2000 Berlin
20 23–24 March 2000 Lisbon
21 29–30 March 2000 Brussels
22 10–11 April 2000 Luxembourg
23 15–16 May 2000 Porto
24 18–19 May 2000 Gibraltar
25 23 May 2000 Brussels
26 24–25 May 2000 Spain
27 25–26 May 2000 Lisbon
28 13 June 2000 Luxembourg
29 18–19 June 2000 Porto
30 04–05 July 2000 Malta
31 10 July 2000 Brussels
32 25–26 July 2000 Athens
33 05–06 September 2000 Slovenia
34 07 September 2000 The Hague
35 11–12 September 2000 Sweden
36 18 September 2000 Brussels
37 12–13 October 2000 Biarritz
38 18–19 October 2000 Italy
39 08 November 2000 Latvia
40 09 November 2000 Lithuania
41 19–20 November 2000 Brussels
42 28 November 2000 Slovakia
43 04 December 2000 Brussels
44 07–12 December 2000 Nice
45 15 December 2000 Brussels
46 22 January 2001 Brussels
47 24 January 2001 Prague
48 09 February 2001 Helsinki
49 22–23 February 2001 Stockholm
50 26 February 2001 Brussels
51 28 February 2001 Austria
52 14 March 2001 Cyprus
53 19 March 2001 Brussels
54 22–24 March 2001 Stockholm

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 20 March 2001,Official Report, column 112W, for what reason the responsibilities of the Minister for Europe were expanded to include entry clearance. [156355]

Mr. Robin Cook

The Minister for Europe was asked to take on responsibility for entry clearance because he was the best man for the job. His stewardship of the portfolio since then has been an outstanding success, as has been recognised by many Members of this House. At home and overseas he has delivered a huge improvement in service. He eliminated the backlog of replies to Members' letters on entry clearance cases, and has achieved dramatic reductions in waiting times at overseas posts such as Islamabad.

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