§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what resources of his Department were involved in work subsequent upon the Piper Alpha incident.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonTwenty of my Department's staff were engaged at various stages of the work leading to the interim report of the Piper Alpha technical investigation into the causes of the disaster, which was released by Lord Cullen, the chairman of the forthcoming public inquiry, on 29 September 1988. My Department has so far authorised payments of about £200,000 for goods and services supplied in connection with work following the disaster under the authority of the advance from the Contingencies Fund which my right hon. Friend announced on 21 July 1988, at columns 835–36, in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell).