Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any foreign country has paid for the flights or accommodation of any Minister visiting that country in the past two years; and if so, who the Ministers were, what were the reasons for their visits, which country was visited, and the cost of (1) the flights, and (2) the accommodation.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Cross-Whitehall data on flights and accommodation of any Minister visiting foreign countries is not centrally held by the FCDO and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

However, information relating to overseas travel by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers is published on GOV.UK, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Bahrain has paid for the flights or accommodation of any Minister visiting that country in the past four years; and if so, who the Ministers were, what were the reasons for their visits, and the cost of (1) the flights, and (2) the accommodation.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We do not hold this information on behalf of HMG; it is held by each Government department for their own ministers. In the case of FCDO Ministers, we do not hold this information centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The FCDO publishes details of FCDO Ministers' meetings with external organisations, gifts (given and received), hospitality and overseas travel every quarter. This information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 April (HL3297), which ambassadors have accepted offers of gifts or hospitality to attended F1 races in the last three years in Gulf States as recorded through management assurance processes; which races they attended; and who offered the gift and hospitality.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the answer to Question HL3297 made clear, all FCDO Staff are expected to maintain the highest standards of propriety and regularity at all times in line with the Civil Service Code and Diplomatic Service Code. It is recognised across HMG that, for example, the exchange of gifts and hospitality have long been an important part of building relations, particularly overseas. The motorsport industry provides significant economic opportunities for the UK, generating over £10 billion in revenue each year, and UK Ambassadors to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have regularly attended F1 events as part of their official duties. Offers of gifts or hospitality to FCDO officials are recorded and regularly audited under our management assurance processes.