Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.

Ministry of Defence expenditure on taxis, first class train tickets and business class air travel in each of the past five years has been as follows:

Notes:

(1) This expenditure represents the reimbursement of taxi fares to Service personnel. Expenditure on taxi fares by civilian staff is not recorded discretely, but is subsumed in a public transport audit and reporting category that also includes expenditure on bus and underground travel. MOD may use a taxi for official duty when there is a business benefit to the Department or when it saves money. A taxi is typically used where no other suitable form of public transport is available or where heavy baggage or equipment has to be carried.

(2) First-class rail travel is currently authorised only exceptionally (for example, for medical reasons or for solo-occupancy sleeper travel)

(3) Overseas travel in other than economy class is permitted only where both the flight duration is over 4 hours and there is a business case to demonstrate that the circumstances warrant it (for example, where significant business has to be done on arrival following an overnight flight).

We are, under our transformational programmes, encouraging and facilitating the adoption of working practices that minimise the need to travel (such as audio and video conferencing). Those staff who need to travel must do so in a way that is the most economical in both cost and official time.