Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many overseas flights were made by ministers in his Department using non-scheduled air transport in each year from 2016 to 2022 inclusive; and on how many of those occasions were members of (a) the media and (b) business delegations included in the travelling party.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Comprehensive details of Senior Officials' Business Expenses, encompassing overseas and domestic flights are available on GOV.UK. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary, and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests, developing international relationships through closer economic, security and development ties. This has been the case under successive administrations of all parties.