Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on hospitality for (a) Ministers in his Department, (b) UK Government Ministers and (c) ministers of foreign governments visiting the UK in each year since 2010.

I refer the hon member to my answer to PQ 105220 of 13 December.

Business Hospitality expenses are used to promote UK interests domestically and overseas, and to entertain visitors or contacts while supporting the FCDO's Policy Priorities. These can include indirect costs incurred due to representational requirements such as cleaning fees, staffing costs, or childcare for late evening receptions where it is mandatory for an officer to represent the UK. All expenses undergo rigorous oversight to ensure they are reasonable and adhere to FCDO spending regulations. The FCDO publish this data in the Annual Report and Accounts in Note 3 Operating Expenditure under "Business Hospitality". Prior to the merger, the FCO published this in Note 3 Operating Costs under "Business Hospitality" within the Annual Report and Accounts. DFID did not separately disclose the "Hospitality and Entertainment" costs in their Annual Report and Accounts as these are too small. However DFID spend on "hospitality and entertainment" prior to the merger was £40,639 in 2017-18; £39,560 in 2018-19; and £45,236 in 2019-20.

DFID spend on hospitality and entertainment for financial years 2010-11 to 2016-17 is in the table below.