Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on catering and hospitality since May 2010.

The Department has spent the following on hospitality in each financial year:

Financial year £

2009-10 937,578.56

2010-11 629,478.02

2011-12 452,893.27

2012-13 385,998.40

2013-14 193,591.20

2014-15 (to 27/10/14) 95,621.56

For 2013-14, the most recent annual data, this represented £743,987.36 reduction on 20019-10, the last full year of data for the previous Government.

These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department's buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.