§ Mr. GrieveTo ask the Solicitor-General if she will publish a list of the ministers who, since May 1997, have benefited from the Government paying their legal fees. [142541]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 11 December 2003]: The question of whether a Minister's legal fees should be paid by Government, i.e. out of public funds, is primarily a matter for the relevant departmental accounting officer, normally the Permanent Secretary for the Minister's Department. Whether or not a Minister's legal fees, for example in relation to some private litigation, are being paid out of public funds is not information which is held by the Treasury Solicitor's Department or by any other of the legal teams in the Government Legal Service. The source from which to obtain this information will be each of the Departments.