Written question asked by Chris Ruane (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 January 2009. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 2 February 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Belize

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many ministerial or state visits to Belize there have been in each of the last 20 years; and what future ministerial or state visits are planned.

Answer: Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh last visited Belize in February 1994. HRH the Princess Royal subsequently visited in April 2001, and HRH the Duke of York in March 2002.Ministerial visits to Belize, in the last 15 years, have included:"February 1998 Tony Lloyd, then Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister;""January 2000 Peter Kilfoyle, then Ministry of Defence Minister;""July 2000 John Battle, then FCO Minister""May 2002 Dr. Denis MacShane, then FCO Minister""January 2004 Bill Rammell, then FCO Minister;""April 2004 Meg Munn, then FCO Minister."There are no current plans for FCO Ministers to visit Belize and it is not practice to announce Royal Visits until all parties concerned have agreed they can proceed, and all arrangements are in place.Information about ministerial travel to Belize in years preceding 1994 is not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Secondary information