§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the cost of(a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for her Department in 2002.[101848]
§ Ms HewittThe information is as follows.
(a) The estimated cost to the Department for ministerial cars and drivers for the financial year 2002–03 is £387,000.
(b) The Department have devolved to local management the authorisation of travel claims for its staff, subject to checking procedures. It does not record details of the cost of taxis used by staff in the Department. To obtain data on this to produce a meaningful estimate of the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.