§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what official foreign visits his officials from the International Legal Service have undertaken since 1997; at what cost; and for what purpose. [32399]
§ Mr. WillsIn the course of their everyday duties and consistent with the Government's active membership of the EU, those officials concerned with international trade in legal services, international legal policy and international legal relations attend meetings outside the United Kingdom, including regular and frequent meetings of European Union and Council of Europe working groups in Brussels and Strasbourg. Travel costs for the majority of these meetings are met from European Union and Council of Europe funds. Information is not held centrally in the form demanded, and it would be disproportionately expensive to provide it in that form.