§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to his Department for(a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123083]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggThe cost within my Department for each of the travel categories since 1997 is as follows:
(a) Ministerial cars—I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Cabinet Office,
(b) Taxis—this information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost,
(c) Train travel—the information provided can only be given from August 1998, as no central data was held prior to this date.
Year Cost on rail travel (£) 1998–99 3,055,026 1999–2000 5,882,502 2000–01 6,140,805 2001–02 8,071,544 2002–03 6,749,194 The annual cost for each year includes NDPB spend as it has not been possible to identify DfES spend separately. The former Employment Service left the contract on 31 March 2002 and they accounted for approx 30 per cent. of the spend.
(d) Helicopters—no costs incurred.
(e) Airline—the information provided can be given only from August 1998, as no central data was held prior to this date:
Year Cost on air travel (£) 1998–99 835,981 1999–2000 1,265,621 2000–01 2,013,043 2001–02 1,720,275 2002–03 1,056,124 The annual cost for each year includes NDPB spend as it has not been possible to identify DIES spend separately. The former Employment Service left the 121W contract on 31 March 2002 and they accounted for approx 30 per cent. of the spend.
(f) Chartered planes—I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Cabinet Office.
Departmental staff have a responsibility to give due consideration to cost when planning any official travel and extensive guidance is provided on how to get the best out of official travel. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.