§ Mr. GorrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he took(a) to include other potential sites for the Scottish Parliament and (b) to invite modifications from the proponents of the existing proposals at the time when the Holyrood site was added to the short list of sites. [24951]
§ Mr. McLeishA range of sites was considered before the original shortlist was drawn up. The Holyrood site was added to that list once it became clear that it would be available in a reasonable timescale. There was no reason at that point to add any other sites. Independent Design Feasibility Studies were commissioned on all four sites to allow a fair comparison of their potential to house the Parliament building.