§ Mr. ByersTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what have been the costs incurred by his office in(a) providing legal advice to witnesses appearing before the Scott inquiry, (b) drawing up evidence to be submitted to the Scott inquiry, (c) officials and legal advisers attending the Scott inquiry and (d) any other related costs.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 6 May 1994]: The cost to the DTI of providing legal advice to witnesses giving evidence to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry is currently £165,976. Officials and Ministers, whether serving or former, have provided evidence to the inquiry on a personal basis and have not been supervised by the Department. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate the time spent or cost incurred in the provision of such evidence. Serving officials are required to submit evidence and attend the inquiry as invited by Lord Justice Scott as part of their official duties.
The direct central cost of the provision of evidence and information from the DTI to the inquiry is estimated to be £311,219, which represents the cost of the inquiry liaison unit within the DTI and the costs of the attendant registry. The direct costs of the Scott inquiry to date, falling to my department, have been £1,028,000.