HL Deb 16 November 1982 vol 436 cc516-7WA
Lord Cullen of Ashbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there is any proposal to raise the advisory cost limit of £50 for answering parliamentary Questions.

Baroness Young

Yes. The advisory figure of £50 was introduced in 1965 as the level at which the likely cost of a full reply to a parliamentary Question should be drawn to the attention of Ministers. This figure is clearly now out of date. it is accordingly being raised, as from the beginning of this Parliamentary Session, to £200.

This does not alter the discretion of individual Ministers to decide that a particular Question should be answered in full regardless of cost.