THE ROYAL
TRAIN
18. Under the Household's stewardship of the grant-in-aid, the
cost of royal travel by train was reduced from £1.9 million
in 1997-98 to £0.6 million in 2000-01 (Figure 1). Ninety
six per cent of expenditure on royal travel by rail in 2000-01
related to the cost of the royal train. The number of journeys
by scheduled rail had increased significantly since 1997-98, but
these journeys were of shorter duration and were cheaper than
using the royal train (Figure 3).[18]
Figure 3: Use of the royal train and other rail services
| Number of rail journeys
| Average miles per journey
|
| 1997-98
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000
| 2000-01 |
|
Royal train | 19
| 16 | 24
| 17 | 581
|
Other rail services | 24
| 60 | 58
| 60 | 156
|
Source: C&AG's Report, Figure 11; Ev 3
19. The cost per mile of rail travel was twice that of air travel.
The Household acknowledged that the royal train was an expensive
form of travel but said that it offered unique advantages. These
included overnight accommodation and dining facilities, and facilities
for meetings and briefings prior to engagements. Members of the
Royal Family could arrive right at the centre of a city and start
their day of engagements early. The royal train was also less
vulnerable than a helicopter to disruption from poor weather.
The royal train was, however, slower than many modern mainline
trains and often could not be used on busy railway lines during
the day, nor could it pass through the Channel Tunnel. The type
of accommodation it offered was also limited, and its relatively
high operating cost discouraged its use. The royal train had therefore
been used infrequently, only 17 times in 2000-01.[19]
20. The Household and the Department had sought private lettings
to reduce the overall cost of the royal train but there had been
no expressions of interest to use the royal train in 1999-2000
or 2000-01. The Household attributed this to the lack of extensive
conference and dining facilities, and the configuration of the
train for overnight travel.[20]
21. Use of the royal train would increase during the celebrations
of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. But after Her Majesty's Jubilee
celebrations, its use was likely to remain limited unless patterns
of travel changed. The Household was reluctant to dispense with
the royal train in view of its operational advantages, but recognised
the need to provide the service as economically as possible. The
Household therefore intended to review the future need for the
train, basing its decision on the use and experience of the royal
train during Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee year celebrations.[21]
THE SIZE
AND COMPOSITION
OF OFFICIAL
PARTIES
22. The size of the party carried on official journeys has varied
considerably, from as few as two people on some official engagements
to over 50 on some State visits. The Household said that State
visits could require large parties because, for example, of the
need to take a doctor, domestic staff and private and press secretaries.
And as Her Majesty provided a return banquet for her host, the
royal party would include catering staff. Ministers and officials
from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had sometimes also travelled
as part of the party. Figure 4 shows the membership of the party
of 38 for the State visit to Korea in April 1999.[22]
Figure 4: Members of the Royal party for the State visit to
Korea in April 1999
Members of the Royal Family
The Queen
The Duke of Edinburgh
|
Staff of the Household |
The Queen's Lady in Waiting
The Queen's Private Secretary
The Duke of Edinburgh's Private Secretary
Master of the Queen's Household, responsible for State entertainment hosted by Her Majesty
The Queen's Assistant Private Secretary, responsible for planning and administering the State visit
The Queen's Doctor
The Queen's Equerry
The Queen's Press Secretary, responsible for all media arrangements
| The Director of Royal Travel, responsible for all air movements
Five Assistants, Clerks and Support staff
Two staff with responsibility for The Queen's wardrobe
One member of staff responsible for the Duke of Edinburgh's wardrobe
The Queen's hairdresser
Eight logistics and support staff, responsible for the movement of luggage, office support, transport, and immigration and customs
|
Other members of the party
|
The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Minister's Private Secretary and his Press Officer
Four Metropolitan Police Officers
| For the Seoul/Yechon/Seoul legs of the tour:
The British Ambassador in Seoul and his wife
A member of staff from the British Embassy in Seoul
|
Source: Ev 23-24
23. The Financial Memorandum between the Department and the Household
provided no guidance on party size. Since 1997, with the agreement
of the Department, the Household had produced detailed guidance
to supplement the financial Memorandum. This guidance covered
the purposes and modes of travel but said less on party size.
Party size might not significantly affect travel costs borne by
the grant-in-aid, particularly where there were spare seats on
the aircraft. But costs would be increased if party size increased
the size of aircraft required for the journey.[23]
24. Sometimes, when there had been spare capacity on chartered
aircraft being used for overseas journeys, members of the Press
and other media had accompanied the royal party. The Household
had charged the media the equivalent fare for the regular scheduled
service plus a share, on a pro-rata basis, of any additional cost
incurred by the Household.[24]
1
C&AG's Report, para 1.1; Ev 1 Back
2
C&AG's Report, paras 1.3, 1.5 Back
3
ibid, paras 1.6-1.7, 3.2 Back
4
C&AG's Report, Royal Travel by Air and Rail (HC 25,
Session 2000-01) Back
5
Ev 1-4; C&AG's Report, para 2.12 Back
6
C&AG's Report, paras 2.8-2.11, 2.30-2.31; Q57; Ev 1, 3-4 Back
7
Qs 32, 40, 99, 153, 173 Back
8
Q28 Back
9
C&AG's Report, paras 2.13-2.14 and Figure 7; Ev 2 Back
10
C&AG's Report, paras 2.12-2.15 Back
11
C&AG's Report, paras 2.17-2.18; Q41 Back
12
C&AG's Report, para 2.18; Qs 28, 41, 211 Back
13
C&AG's Report, paras 2.18-2.19; Qs 6, 41-42 Back
14
Qs 8, 31-42 Back
15
C&AG's Report, para 2.14 and Appendix 2; Qs 201-210 Back
16
C&AG's Report, para 3.10; Q48 Back
17
Q47 Back
18
Ev 3 Back
19
Qs 9, 93, 110, 139, 166 Back
20
C&AG's Report, para 2.32; Q93 Back
21
Qs 10-12, 115, 171 Back
22
C&AG's Report, Appendix 2; Q19 Back
23
Qs 142-146 Back
24
C&AG's Report, para 3.10; Qs 147-148, 150 Back