– Scottish Parliament written question – answered at on 16 December 2008.
Keith Brown
Scottish National Party
Question S3W-19006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information on the destination, purpose and costs of all ministerial visits overseas from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008.
Linda Fabiani
Scottish National Party
The information requested is set out in the following table.
The cost given for each visit includes all flight, accommodation and other expenses.
Engagements marked * were at zero cost to the Scottish Government. Before any overseas engagement is approved, it must represent good value for the Scottish Government and the taxpayer.
| Date of Visit | End Date (if different) | Location | Event | Minister (s) | Number of Officials whoTravelled | Cost of Minister’sTravel and Subsistence (£) |
| 02/04/2006 | 09/04/2006 | USA | The Minister travelled to USA where he undertook a series of engagements as part of the Tartan Week delegation. The Programme covered events in Washington and New York. | Jack McConnell | 3 | £8,555.27 |
| 02/04/2006 | 06/04/2006 | Canada | The Minister travelled to Toronto to meet and discuss international benchmarking, school transformation, curriculum structure and exams structure within both primary and secondary schools. | Peter Peacock | 2 | £4,325.02 |
| 03/04/2006 | 07/04/2006 | USA | The Minister travelled to USA where he undertook a series of engagements as part of the Tartan Week delegation. The programme covered events in Chicago, Washington and New York. | Tom McCabe | 5 | £6,764.04 |
| 05/04/2006 | 07/04/2006 | Denmark | The Minister travelled to Copenhagen to attend a meeting of the Educational Benchmarking Club. He also took the opportunity to look at the Danish Early Years provision. | Robert Brown | 2 | £1,007.00 |
| 25/04/2006 | 26/04/2006 | Belgium | The Minister attended the Committee of the Regions and Associated REGLEG Inter-Regional Group in Brussels. | George Lyon | 2 | £742.13 |
| 05/05/2006 | 11/05/2006 | Australia | The Minister travelled to Melbourne to represent Scotland as part of the UK bidding team to host the Worldskills Competition in London in 2011. | Allan Wilson | 1 | 0.00* |
| 09/05/2006 | 11/05/2006 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend the European Seafood Exposition. | Ross Finnie | 3 | £742.60 |
| 15/05/2006 | 16/05/2006 | Monaco | The Minister travelled to Monaco where he attended a dinner to mark the resumption of Scotch beef exports to France. | Ross Finnie | 3 | £499.50 |
| 18/05/2006 | 19/05/2006 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend the Education, Youth and Culture Council. | Peter Peacock | 2 | £493.50 ** |
| 20/05/2006 | 28/05/2006 | Malawi | The Minister travelled to Lilongwe where she confirmed Scotland’s commitment to working with Malawi following the First Minister’s visit in May 2005. The Minister co-chaired, with senior Malawian Ministers, the Joint Commission on Malawi. | Patricia Ferguson | 3 | £4,017.00 |
| 21/05/2006 | 23/05/2006 | Estonia | The Minister travelled to Tallin to support the Scottish Executive’s "Scottish Week in Estonia". | George Lyon | 2 | £838.40 |
| 21/05/2006 | 23/05/2006 | Bavaria | The Minister travelled to Munich and Regensburg to visit a number of developments illustrating aspects of planning, particularly in housing developments and to identify good practice which could be introduced to Scotland. | Johann Lamont | 2 | £962.00 |
| 22/05/2006 | 23/05/2006 | Belgium | The Minister attended an Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels | Ross Finnie | 3 | £723.50 |
| 28/05/2006 | 29/05/2006 | Netherlands | The Minister travelled to Rotterdam to attend a Scottish Beef event with Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The Minister was undertaking a series of engagements organised by QMS to promote Scotch Beef in light of the lifting of the European Export ban. | Ross Finnie | 2 | £661.00 |
| 06/06/2006 | 08/06/2006 | USA | The Minister travelled to Atlanta to support and promote the Delta Airlines’ inaugural flight from Edinburgh to Atlanta. The Minister made a welcoming speech to the incoming flight at a press conference in Edinburgh before joining the outgoing flight. | Tavish Scott | 3 | £1,647.90 |
| 11/06/2006 | 13/06/2006 | Poland | The Minister travelled to Warsaw and Krakow to launch the Fresh Talent Initiative’s Polish Information Pack. | Tom McCabe | 5 | £348.68 |
| 12/06/2006 | 14/06/2006 | Poland | The Lord Advocate travelled to Warsaw to attend the Conference of the Supreme Courts, Attorneys General and Prosecutor General of the Member States of the European Union. | Colin Boyd | 1 | £1,154.22 |
| 12/06/2006 | 13/06/2006 | Italy | The Minister travelled to Bologna to officially launch the promotion of re-entry of Scotch beef into Italy. | Ross Finnie | 3 | £1,359.30 |
| 16/06/2006 | 17/06/2006 | Netherlands | The Solicitor General travelled to Amsterdam to attend the European Arrest Warrant Conference | Elish Angiolini | 2 | £555.50 |
| 18/06/2006 | 22/06/2006 | Finland & Russia | The Minister travelled to Helsinki and Moscow to build on the strong links we have with both countries regarding trade and investment. | Nicol Stephen | 4 | £2,025.00 |
| 26/06/2006 | 27/06/2006 | Luxembourg | The Minister travelled to Luxembourg to attend an Environment Council. | Rhona Brankin | 2 | £875.00 |
| 30/06/2006 | 02/07/2006 | France | The Minister travelled to Paris and Contalmaison to represent Scotland at events on the 90th Anniversary of the battle of the Somme. | Margaret Curran | 1 | £1,036.66 |
| 11/07/2006 | 12/07/2006 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend a Scottish dinner and meet with Scottish MEPs. | Margaret Curran | 1 | £617.56 |
| 25/07/2006 | 26/07/2006 | Ireland | The Minister travelled to Dublin as part of a wider tour to gain a general insight into transport priorities across Ireland and the challenges faced by them. | Tavish Scott | 4 | £286.66 |
| 25/07/2006 | 27/07/2006 | Norway | The Minister travelled to Bergen to attend a series of events regarding energy and environmental issues. | Nicol Stephen | 3 | £883.31 |
| 06/08/2006 | 08/08/2006 | Norway | The Minister travelled to Trondheim to attend an international Ministerial conference on curbing illegal fisheries. | Ross Finnie | 1 | £916.80 |
| 26/08/2006 | 31/08/2006 | France | The Lord Advocate travelled to Paris where he attended the International Associations of Prosecutors Conference | Colin Boyd | 2 | £952.68 |
| 28/08/2006 | 29/08/2006 | Portugal | The Minister travelled to Lisbon where he met with the Assistant State Secretary for Industry and Innovation. | Nicol Stephen | 3 | £1,100.60 |
| 28/08/2006 | 02/09/2006 | China | The Minister travelled to China to build on the existing strong links between Scotland and China | Tom McCabe | 3 | £4,460.00 |
| 29/08/2006 | 31/08/2006 | Germany | The Minister travelled to Düsseldorf and Duisburg where she met with State Secretary Dr Shrink. She also undertook a number of environmentally themed visits. | Rhona Brankin | 3 | £591.40 |
| 29/08/2006 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels for discussions with Commissioner Borg. | Ross Finnie | 1 | £493.30 | |
| 04/09/2006 | 06/09/2006 | France | The Minister travelled to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to promote the Scottish and UK position on the draft EU Spirit Drinks Regulation. | Allan Wilson | 4 | £1,459.18 |
| 20/09/2006 | 21/09/2006 | Finland | The Minister travelled to Kuopio where he spoke at the Health in all Policies conference. | Andy Kerr | 1 | £1,799.26 |
| 22/09/2006 | 23/09/2006 | Ireland | The Minister travelled to Dublin to support Scotland in the Ryder Cup. | Jack McConnell | 1 | £131.20 |
| 09/10/2006 | 13/10/2006 | New Zealand | The Minister travelled to Wellington and Auckland where she discussed the operation of different devolved and coalition governments. | Margaret Curran | 3 | £6,722.37 |
| 11/10/2006 | 13/10/2006 | Iceland | The Minister travelled to Reykjavik to learn about Iceland’s hydrogen energy policy and the difficulties they have overcome. He toured the island and saw the various demonstration projects in operation. | Alan Wilson | 2 | £1,462.06 |
| 14/10/2006 | 22/10/2006 | USA | The Minister travelled to the USA for a series of business, political and educational visits in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington. The programme also included a Dressed to Kilt event. | Jack McConnell | 4 | £15,012.11 |
| 22/10/2006 | 27/10/2006 | China/Japan | The Minister travelled to Beijing to develop Scotland’s business and research agenda in the renewable energy sector. In Tokyo he met with a number of important Japanese investors. | Nicol Stephen | 4 | £5,792.00 |
| 22/10/2006 | Luxembourg | The Minister travelled to Luxembourg where she attended the Environment Council | Rhona Brankin | 2 | £595.70 | |
| 23/10/2006 | 24/10/2006 | Luxembourg | The Minister travelled to Luxembourg where he attended the Agricultural and Fisheries Council. | Ross Finnie | 3 | £893.80** |
| 10/11/2006 | 12/11/2006 | Poland | The Minister travelled to Warsaw to attend the Warsaw Caledonian Society’s Charity Ball as a guest of honour. He also attended the Liberator Memorial Stone where he met Polish Veterans who trained in Scotland. | Tom McCabe | 2 | £763.40 |
| 12/11/2006 | 13/11/2006 | Ireland | The Minister travelled to Dublin and made a joint declaration to commit Scotland and Ireland to work together on a number of issues, including science and education. | Jack McConnell | 4 | £252.70 |
| 13/11/2006 | 14/11/2006 | Kenya | The Minister travelled to Nairobi to co-host a climate change event on the Montreal Declaration. | Ross Finnie | 3 | £3,868.59 |
| 20/11/2006 | 21/11/2006 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend an Agriculture and Fisheries Council | Ross Finnie | 3 | £1,022.40 |
| 30/11/2006 | 04/12/2006 | Qatar | The Minister travelled to Doha to attend the Asian Games. She hosted a reception for the organisers in particular, the 8 Commonwealth countries in support of the Glasgow 2014 bid. | Patricia Ferguson | 2 | £2,567.00 |
| 05/12/2006 | 06/12/2006 | Finland | The Minister travelled to Helsinki where he met with other EU Education Ministers. | Allan Wilson | 2 | 0.00* |
| 09/12/2006 | 14/12/2006 | South Africa | The Minister travelled to Cape Town to attend the 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers. He also met with Ministers from Ontario, Victoria, New Zealand and Malawi. | Hugh Henry | 3 | £3,604.00 |
| 18/12/2006 | 21/12/2006 | Belgium | The Minister attended an Environment Council and Agriculture and Fisheries Councils, in Brussels | Ross Finnie | 5 | £1,253.90 |
| 08/01/2007 | 09/01/2007 | France | The Minister attended the formal re-opening of the Appeal Court and met with the French Prosecutor General | Elish Angiolini | 1 | £580.42 |
| 19/02/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend an Environment Council | Sarah Boyack | 1 | £674.00 | |
| 20/03/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to meet with Commission Vice President Margot Wallstrőm. Launch of communications project with the European Commission. | Jack McConnell | 4 | £729.02 | |
| Total | £98,818.64 |
| Date of Visit | End Date (if different) | Location | Event | Minister (s) | Number of Officials who Travelled | Cost of Minister’s Travel and Subsistence (£) |
| 18/04/2007 | 20/04/2007 | Luxembourg | The Lord Advocate travelled to Luxembourg to attend an EU Justice and Home Affairs Committee. | Elish Angiolini | 1 | £1,071.93 |
| 11/06/2007 | 12/06/2007 | Luxembourg | The Minister travelled to Luxembourg to attend an EU Agriculture & Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £1,017.00 |
| 18/06/2007 | 19/06/2007 | France | The Minister travelled to Paris to attend the International Airshow where he promoted Scotland’s contribution to the aerospace sector in the global market. | Jim Mather | 2 | £802.39 |
| 24/06/2007 | 27/06/2007 | Canada | The Solicitor General travelled to Vancouver to promote Scotland as an independent and active participant in the development of international criminal justice processes. He was also invited to speak on the application of police powers in the prosecution of crime. | Frank Mulholland | 2 | £4,685.00 |
| 11/07/2007 | 12/07/2007 | Belgium | The First Minister travelled to Brussels where he held a reception for key European contacts and attended a Passchendaele memorial service with Her Majesty The Queen. | Alex Salmond | 4 | £1,335.69 |
| 11/07/2007 | 12/07/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels where she supported First Minister at a reception for Brussels stakeholders and undertook a series of separate engagements including meeting with Geert Bourgeois, Flemish Minister for Administrative Affairs, Foreign Policy, Media and Tourism. | Linda Fabiani | 2 | £1,310.19 |
| 02/08/2007 | 07/08/2007 | France | The Minister travelled to Lorient to attend the Interceltique Festival. 2007 was the year of Scotland at the Festival with a specific Scottish focused programme which highlighted Scotland’s rich Celtic culture and promote Scotland as a great place to visit, live and work. | Linda Fabiani | 2 | £761.52 |
| 24/08/2007 | 26/08/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to represent the Scottish Government at Scots Passchendaele Commemorations. | Linda Fabiani | 2 | £833.26 |
| 15/09/2007 | 20/09/2007 | China | The Lord Advocate travelled to Hong Kong to attend the International Association of Prosecutors Conference. The topics discussed included International fight against crime, the growth in serious transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud. | Elish Angiolini | 2 | £4,480.11 |
| 26/09/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £569.80 | |
| 10/10/2007 | 13/10/2007 | USA | The First Minister travelled to New York to promote Scotland as an attractive location for investment. | Alex Salmond | 2 | £6,349.84 |
| 11/10/2007 | 12/10/2007 | France | The Lord Advocate attended a conference in Paris organised by the Prosecutor General of the Court of Cassation | Elish Angiolini | 2 | £852.00 |
| 14/10/2007 | 20/10/2007 | Canada & USA | The Minister visited 6 cities to promote Scotland as a place to do business and invest in as well as to brief Provincial Ministers on the priorities of the new Scottish Government. Also supported "Scotland Funds" events in Vancouver and Toronto. | Jim Mather | 1 | £3,926.65 |
| 15/10/2007 | 16/10/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend a meeting prior to the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £700.12 |
| 22/10/2007 | 23/10/2007 | Luxembourg | The Minister travelled to Luxembourg to attend an EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £1,066.40 |
| 24/10/2007 | 27/10/2007 | Spain | The Lord Advocate travelled to Madrid to attend European Justice Ministers Conference. | Elish Angiolini | 2 | £1,118.56 |
| 05/11/2007 | 12/11/2007 | Sri Lanka | The First Minister travelled to Sri Lanka for the decision on the bid by Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. | Alex Salmond | 3 | £3,912.50 |
| 05/11/2007 | 12/11/2007 | Sri Lanka | The Minister for Communities and Sport travelled to Sri Lanka for the decision on the bid by Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. | Stewart Maxwell | 1 | £2,382.50 |
| 07/11/2007 | 08/11/2007 | Belgium | The Solicitor General travelled to Brussels to attend an EU Justice & Home Affairs Council. | Frank Mulholland | 1 | £1,150.00 |
| 15/11/2007 | 16/11/2007 | Spain | The Minister travelled to Barcelona to attend the conference of Regions with Legislative Powers. | Linda Fabiani | 1 | £976.04 |
| 25/11/2007 | 26/11/2007 | Netherlands | The Minister travelled to The Hague to attend a EUROPOL conference. | Kenny MacAskill | 2 | £1,186.40 |
| 25/11/2007 | 27/11/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend an EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 5 | £697.67 |
| 27/11/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend a series of meetings on energy and structural funds policy. | Jim Mather | 2 | £475.50 | |
| 02/12/2007 | 03/12/2007 | USA | The Minister travelled to New York to attend the Global Scot conference. | John Swinney | 1 | £2,920.28 |
| 06/12/2007 | 07/12/2007 | Belgium | The Solicitor General travelled to Brussels to attend an EU Justice & Home Affairs Council. | Frank Mulholland | 1 | £847.00 |
| 09/12/2007 | 10/12/2007 | Denmark | The Minister travelled to Copenhagen to meet with members of the Danish Government to discuss and learn about minority government. He also met with the Head of the Nordic Council. | Bruce Crawford | 2 | £800.00 |
| 13/12/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to meet with Commissioner Borg in advance of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £588.23 | |
| 16/12/2007 | 20/12/2007 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £1,401.53 |
| 25/01/2008 | 26/01/2008 | France | The Minister travelled to Paris to attend a workshop with the GlobalScots from the Southern Europe Region. He also attended a Burns supper hosted by Scottish Development International. | Stewart Stevenson | 0 | £283.50 |
| 28/01/2008 | 30/01/2008 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to meet with Commissioners, MEPs and | Linda Fabiani | 2 | £557.33 |
| Member State Permanent representatives. She also hosted a Burns supper. | ||||||
| 03/02/2008 | 04/02/2008 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to meet with Commissioners Potoĉnik and Dimas. | Mike Russell | 2 | £584.80 |
| 09/02/2008 | 16/02/2008 | Malawi | The Minister travelled to Malawi to affirm the new Scottish Government’s commitment to working with Malawi. She met with Malawi Ministers to discuss future priorities. She also visited a number of projects funded by the Scottish Government’s International Development fund. | Linda Fabiani | 2 | £5,494.54 |
| 13/02/2008 | 14/02/2008 | Ireland | The First Minister travelled to Dublin to attend the British-Irish Council. | Alex Salmond, | 3 | £182.72 |
| 13/02/2008 | 14/02/2008 | Ireland | The Minister for Community Safety travelled to Dublin to attend the British-Irish Council. | Fergus Ewing | as above | £217.23 |
| 13/02/2008 | 14/02/2008 | Ireland | The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning travelled to Dublin to attend a series of meetings around the British-Irish Council focusing on workplace innovations. | Fiona Hyslop | as above | £169.40 |
| 27/02/2008 | 28/02/2008 | Belgium | The Solicitor General travelled to Brussels to attend an EU Justice and Home Affairs Council. | Frank Mulholland | 1 | £871.00 |
| 04/03/2008 | 06/03/2008 | Norway | The Minister travelled to Oslo to attend the North Atlantic Seafood Forum. | Richard Lochhead | 1 | £600.00 |
| 14/03/2008 | 16/03/2008 | Italy | The Minister travelled to Rome to attend the Italy v Scotland 6 Nations rugby international. He also had discussions with representatives of the Italian Rugby Federation about a possible bid to host Rugby World Cup 2015. | Stewart Maxwell | 0 | £716.00 |
| 17/03/2008 | 18/03/2008 | Belgium | The Minister travelled to Brussels to attend the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. He also held bilateral meetings with Hilary Benn and Commissioner Fischer Boel and Borg. | Richard Lochhead | 3 | £300.00 |
| 29/03/2008 | 07/04/2008 | USA | The Minister travelled to the USA where she undertook a series of engagements as part of the Scotland Week delegation. The programme covered events in Washington and New York. The Minister then travelled to Toronto, Canada, where she visited Guelph University which has strong educational links with Scotland. She also attended a reception organised by VisitScotland and SDI. | Linda Fabiani | 3 | £4,443.84 |
| 29/03/2008 | 06/04/2008 | USA | The First Minister travelled to USA where he undertook a series of engagements as part of the Scotland Week delegation. The programme covered events in Washington and New York. | Alex Salmond | 4 | £6,915.27 |
| 28/03/2008 | 06/04/2008 | USA | The Minister travelled to USA where he undertook a series of engagements as part of the Scotland Week delegation. The programme covered meetings and events in Seattle, San Jose, Houston and Austin. | Jim Mather | 1 | £5,981.59 |
| Total | £75,535.33 |
Notes:
*No costs incurred to Scottish Executive.
**Costs relate to flights only – other additional costs unavailable.
The European Commission is the politically independent institution that represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole. It is the driving force within the EU’s institutional system: it proposes legislation, policies and programmes of action and it is responsible for implementing the decisions of Parliament and the Council.
Like the Parliament and Council, the European Commission was set up in the 1950s under the EU’s founding treaties.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
