§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of how the remainder of the £140,000 spent on the Aberfan Tribunal of Inquiry was spent after allocating £93,537 of that sum for legal charges.
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesThe sum for legal charges was £83,537. The main components of the remaining costs were as follows:
£ Tribunal fees and expenses 5,751 Treasury Solicitor's expenses 4,520 Models, aerial survey, photographs, documents 2,982 Consulting Engineers, expert witnesses and contractors charges 23,654 Fees etc. for expert witnesses called by represented parties 18,478 Other witnesses expenses 329 55,714
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will give the esimated costs to Government Departments for the supply of services connected with the Aberfan Tribunal of Inquiry.
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesThese estimates could not be provided without the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time and effort.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many counsel shared in the £62,403 paid for the Aberfan Tribunal of Inquiry; what were their average receipts in each instance, the number of hours engaged in the Tribunal's activities, and similar details for their clerks; and if he will give details on the same basis for the £21,134 paid to the solicitors.
114W
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesA payment of £60,807 represented the fees paid to 16 counsel, an average of £3,800. Their clerks received a total of £1,596, an average of £100. The 8 solicitors were paid £21,134, an average of £2,642.
It is not possible to say how many hours were spent by each on the Tribunal's activities but the hearing itself lasted for 76 days.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is aware that, out of a total of £140,000 espent on the Aberfan Tribunal of Inquiry, £93,537 was incurred for legal charges; and whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain whether these fees and payments fell within the Government's wages, prices and incomes policy.
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesMy right hon. Friend is satisfied that the fees and payments to barristers and solicitors were no more than was reasonable for the work they carried out in connection with this very important Inquiry.