Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in November 2021, what accounts for the difference between the price of the payments made to Hotel Ibis by the Joint Nature Conservation Society on (a) 2 November for £2,719.00 and (b) 5 November 2021 for 2,649.80 for the accommodation of four staff between 31 October and 9 November 2021.

A team of JNCC's experts attended the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow in November 2021. Their involvement included hosting eleven livestream events on nature-based solutions for a net zero and resilient future, monitoring landscape change, addressing threats through global, national, and local approaches, international partnerships and oceans action.

The payments to the IBIS hotel for 31 October to 9 November 2021 were for two JNCC staff members for ten nights and one staff member staying for two nights, at a total cost of £5,368.80. All were attending the CoP-26 conference in Glasgow. The difference in the two sums is because the hotel divided up the total cost into two- part payments.