Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 41 of his Department's annual report and accounts for 2022/23, HC1464, published on 19 September 2023, what the distance travelled on domestic flights was that resulted in the emission totals of (a) 434 tCO2e in 2021/22 and (b) 363 tCO2e in 2022/23.

The distance travelled by domestic flights in 2021/22 was 556,491.84 Km which equates to 72 tCO2. In 2022/23 the department travelled 1,772,171.00 Km by domestic flights which equates to 230 tCO2e.

Use of domestic air travel is a long standing practice under successive administrations to make best use of ministers’ working time, for instance by the last Labour Government for flights between London and Teesside, as reported by the BBC, ‘Ministers quizzed on RAF flights’, 12 April 2006, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4900580.stm) and Independent newspaper ‘Blair runs up £1.2m bill using Queen's Flight’, Wednesday 12 April 2006, (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-runs-up-163-1-2m-bill-using-queen-s-flight-6103956.html).