Bt175m budget for foreign trips
Out of Bt379 million allocated to 35 House standing committees in Parliament's 2012 budget, Bt175 million has been set aside for foreign trips, a source said yesterday.
The budget for domestic travelling expenses stood at Bt35 million, reception expenses for foreign guests Bt7 million, seminars Bt52 million, support and promotion funds Bt52 million, catering for committee members Bt14 million, allowances, hotel rooms and vehicles Bt35 million, and Bt88 million in fees for interpreters.
Parliament does not limit the number of foreign trips in each fiscal budget. The House Committee on Parliament Affairs will today look into the controversy involving the Bt7-million trip to Europe by House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont, who has returned to Thailand.
The Office of the House Speaker has been allocated Bt49 million from the 2012 fiscal budget, Bt155,200 of which was spent on a seminar on coups, which is the only expense incurred from October 1 last year to May 31 this year.
