§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Attorney-General how many hours of(a) his time and (b) his staff's time was involved in dealing with the application of Lord Farnham to be allowed to sit in the House of Lords; what was the total cost of the case to his Department; and what proportion of those costs was subsequently met by the applicant. [31112]
§ The Attorney-GeneralOfficials in the Treasury Solicitor's Department have spent 156.3 hours to date dealing with Lord Farnham's petition for a writ of summons to the House of Lords. The cost to the Department of such time is £13,757.40, in addition to which the Department has disbursed £18,000.32 by way of expenses attributable to the case. The petitioner has met his own costs and has paid an agreed contribution of £2,643.75 in respect of the costs of a private hearing before me. My officials and I worked on the case as part of normal duties and the time is not recorded.