Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Thursday, 21 February 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 25 February 2008. It was answered by Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour) on Monday, 3 March 2008 on behalf of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Ministers: Official Residences

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether Chequers was included in official residences under (a) section 4.2 of the July 2005 Ministerial Code and (b) section 6.2 of the July 2007 Ministerial Code; which senior ministers were referred to in section 4.2 of the July 2005 Ministerial Code; and which official residences (i) senior ministers are required to live in for the purposes of the job, (ii) senior ministers are not required to live in for the purposes of the job and (iii) are not occupied by senior ministers.

Answer: Official residences are assigned to Ministers by the Prime Minister either on grounds of security or in order to allow them to perform better their official duties. Rules on the use of official residences are set out in the ““Ministerial Code””. Official residences available to Ministers are:"The flats above Numbers 10 and 11 Downing street;""Flats in Admiralty House;""1 Carlton Gardens;""Hillsborough Castle and Stormont are available for Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland."In addition, Chequers, Dorneywood and Chevening, none of which is owned by the Government are also used by Ministers. The Government House in Pimlico is no longer required and is in the process of being sold.

Secondary information