§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister 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. [47145]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of StateBetween 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001, Special Advisers in the Cabinet Office travelled abroad on eight occasions, at an average cost of £1,706.46 per trip. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2000 is already in the public domain. All travel by Special Advisers is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code, and the Civil Service Management Code.
Special Advisers visited Sweden, the United States of America, Colombia, France, Spain, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Details of Special Adviser travel for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the current financial year.