Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120039 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of each flight to Tanzania; which Ministers and senior officials approved each visit; how many officials travelled on each occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of each visit; and whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (a) conducted remotely and (b) combined with other travel.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has supported the protection of UK nationals, UK economic interests and the resilience of global maritime trade by strengthening maritime security overseas, particularly in relation to terrorism and major security threats. DfT has acted to build and enhance international maritime security capacity by working collaboratively with partner states to improve compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, thereby reducing risk to the UK’s supply chains, energy routes and the UK‑registered and wider Red Ensign Group shipping fleet. In March 2025 two DfT officials (1 x Higher Executive Officer and 1 x Senior Executive Officer) visited Tanzania to deliver capacity development workshops, undertake port security surveys and participate in a Women in Maritime symposium.

The visit was approved by a Deputy Director (Senior Civil Servant) in DfT’s Transport Security Division in line with departmental policy. The total cost of the visit was £8,584.42.

As part of the planning process, consideration was given to whether the engagement could be conducted remotely or combined with other official travel. While some preparatory and follow up activity was undertaken virtually, aspects of the engagement required on site delivery and therefore could not be fully conducted remotely.