HC Deb 19 December 2002 vol 396 cc943-4W
Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many departmental Christmas cards he and his ministers intend to send in 2002; how much these cards will cost(a) to buy, (b) to post and (c) in staff time to sign, address and place in envelopes; and if he will place in the Library a sample copy of the official Christmas card he has sent this year. [88116]

Mr. Straw

I sent 905 Christmas cards at a cost of:

  1. a) £932.95;
  2. b) £97.20 to post 360 first class. 415 cards were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag and a further 130 via the government mail system. There was no separate charge for this;
  3. c) £301.22 for an A2 to spend 4 working days updating and amending the database throughout the year, ordering the cards and sending them out.
Dr. MacShane sent 250 cards in 2002 at a cost of:
  1. a) £175;
  2. b) £16.20 to post 60 first class. The remaining 190 were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag:
  3. c) £160 for an A2 to spend 17 hours updating and amending recipient details, ordering the cards and sending them out.
Baroness Symons sent 451 cards in 2002 at a cost of:
  1. a) £315;
  2. b) £114.75 to post 425 first class. The remaining 26 were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag or via the government mail system;
  3. c) £184.80 for an A2 to spend 20 hours updating and amending recipient details, ordering the cards and sending them out.

Mr. O'Brien sent 185 cards (106 Christmas cards, 79 Bid cards) in 2002 at a cost of:

  1. a) £129.50;
  2. b) £15.12 to post 56 first class. The remaining 129 were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag or via the government mail system.
  3. c) £337.50 for a B3 to spend 32 hours updating and amending recipient details, ordering the cards and sending them out.
Mr. Rammell sent 225 cards at a cost of:
  1. a) £157.50;
  2. b) £27.54 to post 102 first class. 29 were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag and a further 94 via the government mail system;
  3. c) £129.36 for an A2 to spend 14 hours sending out the Christmas cards.
Baroness Amos sent 380 cards at a cost of:
  1. a) £266;
  2. b) £67.77 to post 251 first class. 56 were sent through the FCO diplomatic bag and a further 73 via the Government mail system;
  3. c) £206.01 for an A2 to spend 27 hours updating and amending recipient details and sending out the Christmas cards. And 22.50 for a B3 to spend two hours sending out Christmas cards.

A sample copy of my and all other ministers Christmas cards will be placed in the Library of the House.

My cards were ordered through Card Aid which donates all profits to charity. £205 will be donated to UNICEF this year. All other ministers choose their cards from the official FCO selection. The profits of the official FCO card are split between the FCO Welfare Fund and the Diplomatic Families Association Emergency Welfare Fund.

All expenditure incurred in the purchase and dispatch of official cards is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in Government Accounting.