Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings he had on his visit to Houston, Texas in February 2017; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost to the public purse was of those meetings.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State did not visit Texas in February 2017.

The former Parliamentary under Secretary of State (Nicola Blackwood) attended the Arab Health Conference on 30 and 31 January 2017 to promote British business, in order to help achieve the Prime Minister’s stated goal of close collaboration and partnership in healthcare. The Minister held meetings with a number Government Ministers and officials from the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and engaged with representatives from numerous British companies, trade bodies and healthcare suppliers as part of the conference.

Further information on Ministerial overseas visits and meetings, including costs, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2017