Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2022 to Question 2427 on 10 Downing Street: Taxis, for what reason his Department does not maintain records for the costs incurred on Downing Street's travel account for mini-cabs; and what steps he is taking to effectively ensure value for public money in the use of that account in the absence of such records.

As I outlined in my previous answer, the information requested by the Rt Hon Member is not centrally held in the form requested, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

All expenditure is in line with the Cabinet Office’s Travel and Expenses Policy. It states that such travel expenses may be claimed by staff where:

• “you are outside of normal working hours (before 6am and after 9pm)

• no other suitable method of public transport is available, and

• travel by private vehicle or self-drive hire car is not possible and/or is not cost-effective, and either:

• you are transporting heavy luggage or official business equipment, or

• the saving of official time is important and can be justified on cost grounds.”

To assist the Rt Hon Member’s scrutiny, as I have noted in previous answers, there was no such spending by Downing Street staff in relation to gatherings in the recent report by the Second Permanent Secretary.