Government announced yesterday that some $196,171.47 was spent for travel expenses since last July?s general election by five Ministers.

Premier Alex Scott spent more than $111,000 on official travel since taking office last July, on six official trips and took care of airfare, meals, accommodation and per diems for the Premier and officials accompanying him. And Labour and Home Affairs Minister Randolph Horton has spent more than $50,000 on official travel since taking office at the end of July 2003.

The money was spent on five trips for airfare, accommodation, meals, transport, per diems and other expenses for the Minister and his Permanent Secretary who accompanied him on each of the trips.

Public funds to the tune of $7,068.61 were spent by the Attorney General for two official overseas trips, legislators learned yesterday.

Attorney General Larry Mussenden went to the British Virgin Islands for the Attorneys General conference for UK colonies in February, accompanied by Solicitor General Wilhelm Bourne ? a trip which cost taxpayers $3,389.60.

The information was provided to legislators in response to parliamentary questions posed by Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons who asked about trips taken between January 1, 2003 through May 31, 2004. Total spending by the Premier on travel came to $111,343.94.

For the Edinburgh Tattoo, the Premier spent $11,116.70 on airfares, $5,248.10 on accommodation, $638.23 on meals and $600 on per diems, totalling $17,603.03. He was accompanied by an assistant Cabinet Secretary on that trip.

And the Premier took the Secretary to the Cabinet and an assistant Cabinet Secretary with him to the UK Labour Party conference a trip which cost $14,611.95 on fares, $10,435.28 on accommodation, $798.40 on meals, $2,082.66 on ground transportation and $750 on per diems, totalling $28,678.29.

The RIMS conference expenses came in about $10,000 less at $18,747.68. The Secretary to the Cabinet and the DCI Director went to San Diego with the Premier and together they spent $11,008.25 on airfares, $6,524.36 on accommodation, $465.07 on meals and $750 on per diems.

The Premier also travelled to the UK for the Overseas Territories Consultative Council, a trip which cost $23,708.92 including $18,829.35 airfare costs, $2,145.97 on accommodation, $1,683.60 on meals and $1,050 on per diems.

On that trip, he was accompanied by the Director of the Department of Communications and Information, the Attorney General and the Secretary to the Cabinet.

A total of $10,868.21 was spent when the Premier went to Jamaica, where he visited the Regiment, and St. Kitts where he attended a Caricom conference.

Airfares accounted for $6,586.55, accommodation $2,781.66 and per diems came to a total of $1,050 for the Caribbean trip with the DCI Director and an assistant Cabinet Secretary.

And when Mr. Scott went to Washington D.C. and New York with Secretary to the Cabinet and the DCI Director for the BIBA?s Bermuda Briefings, a total of $11,737.81 was spent ? $2,893.50 on airfares, $7,779.85 on accommodation, $469.31 on meals, $145.15 on transportation and $450 on per diems.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley said Mrs. Minors had taken four overseas trips at the tax payers expense between January 1, 2003 and May 31, 2004.

Records presented by Health Minister Patrice Minors show she attended the 52nd National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. from February 3-7, costing a total of $1,718.35. She travelled to New York City on February 18 for the Kurron Shares of America meeting costing a total of $3,022.10. The Foreign Commonwealth sponsored Mrs. Minors visit to London from April 18 to 24, with the seven day trip costing $6,371.23. Mrs. Minors attended the Caribbean Ministerial Conference of Disability in Jamaica from May 10 to 13 at a total cost of $4,746.21.

Her expenses were broken down into airfare, accommodation, meals, ground transportation, entertainment, and any ancillary expenses.

Airfare gobbled up $2,158 for the Attorney General and another $924.45 for the Solicitor General, while just $189.90 was spent on meals and a further $117.25 on other expenses for the four day trip ? bringing the total spending to $3,389.60.

Another trip to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force from April 16 to April 22 this year, cost taxpayers $7,068.61.

Senator Mussenden was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Anthony Manders, Assistant Cabinet Secretary Khamisi Tokunbo, Gary Wilson of the Police Financial Investigation Unit.

Senator Mussenden?s airfare for that trip came to $1,023, while the rest of the delegation spent $806.95 each on airfare.

Accommodations totalled $1,199.84 and per diems added up to $2,424.92 for the three officials accompanying the Attorney General.

The information was submitted in response to questions posed by the Opposition United Bermuda Party.

In August last year Mr. Horton and the Labour and Home Affairs PS went to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a one week trip which cost taxpayers $20,655.46 in total.

Airfares for the journey to and from Scotland left Bermuda with a bill of more than $10,000 - $4,405.95 for the Minister, and $6,014.05 for the Permanent Secretary. With other expenses the total bill for the Scotland trip came to $10,350.88 for the Minister and $10,304.58 for the Permanent Secretary.

In December the duo headed off to the Caribbean Latin American Action?s 27th Conference on the Caribbean Basin in Miami, Florida and racked up a $9,646.38 bill.

And on a four day March trip to Jamaica to support the Regiment, they spent $7,337.84.

The following month the Minister and his Permanent Secretary went to the Caribbean Labour Ministers? Biennial Conference in Nassau, Bahamas a trip lasting four days which left the taxpayer with a bill of $8,332.87.

And in May they headed off to New York for Leadership Seminar called Quantum Leap. The trip only lasted two days and cost almost as much as the adventure in Jamaica - $6,588.65.

In all the pair have spent $52,561.20 on official travel since August last year. Half of that - $25,724.20 - was airfare, while $13,860.45 was spent on accommodation. Another $4,351.59 was spent on meals, $407.48 on transportation while on the ground, ancillary expenses gobbled up $4,617.48 and per diems came to $3,600.

Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler has spent more than $9,000 on official travel since being appointed to the Cabinet in August last year.

Less than $4,000 of that was spent on just one official trip to Cuba, the House of Assembly learned yesterday.

Responding to questions posed by the Shadow Minister of Youth and Sport, Mr. Butler reported that he made one official trip ? lasting eight days ? accompanied by Cultural Affairs Officer Gary Burgess, to the Caribbean nation.

The pair spent $750.95 each on airfare, while the Minister spent $1,308.73 on ?subsistence? with another $1,088 spent on Dr. Burgess? subsistence.

Total spend on the Cuba trip came up to $3,898.63.

But the Minister travelled alone to Barbados to lobby for the World Cricket Cup 2007 ? a two-day trip which was paid for by the taxpayers to the tune of $2,460.17 of which $613.22 was for subsistence and $1,846.95 was spent on airfare.

A six-day trip to Montserrat cost a total of $2,980.97 of which $2,248.45 was spent on airfare and $732.52 on subsistence.