Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many awaydays his Department has held for officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and what the cost was of each such event.

Under the last Labour Government, DCLG spent £196,585 on “away days” in 2008-09 and £137,678 in 2009-10. We have cut costs to just £272 in 2013 and to zero in 2014. This has resulted in notable savings to taxpayers. A table with details is attached.

These significant reductions in spending are a consequence of revised guidance to staff that team away days should take place at no or limited cost; this has included encouraging the use of rooms in the Department or a neighbouring Whitehall Department.

This is a significant departure from the expensive practices that took place under the last Administration, which included booking away days in luxury hotels, restaurants and a burlesque club.