Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, 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.

The Department for Transport comprises the Central Department and five Agencies, Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Highways Agency (HA), Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).

The Government Car & Despatch Agency (GCDA) ceased to be an executive agency on the 1st October 2012 when its functions were transferred to the central department.

We are unable to provide information on the number of awaydays held over this period and their cost because this is not readily available and to collect this would incur disproportional costs.

The Department is committed to investing in development to ensure that it’s people have the right skills at the right time to deliver our challenging agenda.

Where possible, the Department uses its existing in-house training resources rather than external trainers. In addition, training events, awaydays etc are not held in chargeable venues unless there is no alternative and there is a clear and quantifiable work related outcome.

Consideration is also given as to whether the intended aims of development can be met by means other than a formal course, such as workplace learning or e-learning – the latter of which is freely available via Civil Service Learning. All training is delivered in accordance with Cabinet Office Learning and Development controls.