Written question asked by Oliver Heald (Conservative) on Thursday, 5 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 November 2009. It was answered by Lord Beamish (Labour) on Thursday, 12 November 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Hotels: Expenditure

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hotel bills in 2008-09.

Answer: We spent some £50 million on hotel bills in 2008-09. This figure represents the expenditure incurred through the central Defence Hotel Reservation Service, through which the majority of the MOD's hotel bookings are increasingly being made.Included in this figure is expenditure by both military and civilian staff in the Department, the Defence Agencies and the Defence Support Group Trading Fund. Excluded is expenditure by our other trading funds and our advisory non-departmental bodies, which do not use the central contract. Also excluded is expenditure incurred outside the Defence Hotel Reservation Service; for example, where the costs of accommodation are included in a residential training package or where overnight accommodation is arranged at the last minute.

Secondary information