§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by departmental special advisers on food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for entertainment purposes in each of the last five years. [46843]
§ Mr. Paul MurphySince the establishment of the Wales Office on 1 July 1999, my special advisers have not spent any departmental funds on entertainment.
Records prior to this date are not available.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times special advisers have accompanied Ministers on overseas visits in each of the last five years; which countries were visited; and what the total cost of each individual visit was. [47136]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyInformation is available only for the period since the Wales Office was established on 1 July 1999.
Departmental special advisers have accompanied Ministers on visits abroad on seven occasions, Belgium five times, Ireland once and Spain once. It is not practicable separately to identify the costs of these visits, but all journeys were judged to comply with the Civil Service Code.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many special advisers there were in his Department; and what their salaries were in each of the last five years. [46960]
§ Mr. Paul MurphySince its creation in July 1999, the Wales Office has had two special advisers. They are paid in accordance with the Government-wide special advisers' salary scales promulgated by the Cabinet Office.