Government is showing a general disrespect to Parliamentary procedure and the House, Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons charged yesterday after a number of Cabinet Minister failed to respond to Parliamentary questions on travel spending within the required time frame.

Under House rules, the Government should provide responses to Parliamentary questions from the Opposition within ten days, but a number of Cabinet Ministers did not return responses their Opposition Shadows.

Dr. Gibbons said yesterday he was unsure which Ministers failed to comply with the request as some of his party colleagues may not have forwarded replies given to them, yet but he was certain some requests went unanswered.

“We don't believe we've had all the answers,” Dr. Gibbons said. “They were due on Friday and we're very disappointed. Not all the Cabinet replied as they are required to do within ten days. They don't take the time requirements seriously.”

Dr. Gibbons said failing to reply to Parliamentary questions makes the Government look like they have something to hide.

He said it was the second time in recent weeks that Government had manipulated Parliamentary procedure to suit their ends, referring to his colleague John Barritt's attempt at inciting debate on the decision of the Broadcast Commission on the Premier address to the nation last year.

Mr. Barritt accused Government of using “filibuster” tactics to drive the answers to his Parliamentary question to written form.

He said Government purposefully spent the first hour of the November 15 sitting on Ministerial statements and congratulatory and obituary speeches “so as to avoid having to answer the questions on the floor of the House”.

House procedure is that only written answers have to be given to tabled questions if they are not taken up by 11 a.m.

“This is a breach of process,” Dr. Gibbons said. “It appeared the Premier was trying to avoid oral questions on the Broadcast Commission (decision).”

Failing to respond the their Shadows questions on travel spending follows the same disrespectful pattern, he added.

Six PLP Cabinet Ministers did respond to the requests to detail their overseas trips at taxpayers' expense over the past calendar year on Friday, however.

While two of the Ministers - Works and Engineering's Alex Scott and Labour and Education's Paula Cox - responded that they took no overseas trips at all during the period between November 1, 2001 and October 31, 2002, the remaining four Ministers who responded reported a combined 21 trips, spending over $179,000.

Labour and Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister reported the greatest amount of travel spending, with six trips totalling $68,645 according to the spreadsheet he presented to Opposition Shadow Patricia Gordon-Pamplin.

The Opposition also asked the Ministers for details on who travelled with them on these trips Mr. Lister's personal travel actually accounted for only $26,985 of his total as he was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary (PS) on three occasions and the Chief Immigration Officer on one.

When Mr. Lister attended the International Labour Organisation Convention in Switzerland this past June, he travelled with five others: his PS, the Director of Labour and Training, Bermuda Industrial Union President Derrick Burgess and the General Secretary of TUC.

The cost for the ten-day convention for the group rang in at $37,279.

In addition to providing cost breakdowns of his trips, however, Minister Lister also provided Ms Gordon-Pamplin with speeches he made both at these international meetings and to the House of Assembly reporting on his activities.

Along with the ILO convention, Mr. Lister attended a six-day meeting of the Bermuda Canadian Association in Toronto, a five-day Caricom meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, spent nine days in Jamaica with Bermuda Regiment, and attended a two-day ILO Caribbean meeting in Barbados with a side trip (five days) to Florida with Regiment again.

Dual Minister of Tourism and Telecommunications and E-Commerce Renee Webb was the second most frequent flying Government member responding to the questions.

Ms Webb reported five trips at a combined total of $45,381 in the last year. On two of those occasions Ms Webb travelled solo.

Her most costly trip was a six-day BIBA educational meeting in the United Kingdom early this year which she attended with an E-Commerce consultant at a cost of $12,165.

Ms Webb also travelled to a meeting in Bahamas ($3,424), the Crans Montana Forum in Switzerland ($6,404), and E-Commerce briefings and meetings in London twice in September ($23,388, with three Ministry staff).

Finance Minister Eugene Cox was also conducted five Government trips in the last 12 months, totalling $43,384.

Attending the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in London this past September was the most costly trip.

The Minister attended the two day meeting with the Financial Secretary at a total costs of just over $15,000 - over $10,000 of that sum was accounted for by the cost of the air tickets however.

Mr. Cox also attended the World Economic Forum ($3009), the RIMS conference in New Orleans ($4597, accompanied by Asst. Financial Secretary) and an undisclosed-topic Government business trip to London ($11,456, with Financial Secretary).

A three-day mission to Washington in May by Mr. Cox and the Ministry Financial Secretary and Asst. Financial Secretary spurred by discussions around the Patriot Tax, which were mushrooming at the time, cost taxpayers $9,145.

Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Randy Horton reported to his UBP Shadow Cole Simons, a total of $21,945 spend over five trips.

Mr. Horton did not elaborate on the trips other than to say an $8,919 jaunt to London with his wife to attend the Queen's Jubilee. Airfare ($7,819) comprised the bulk of the cost.

Mr. Horton made one other business trip with the Director of Youth and Sports but travelled solo on the remaining three.