§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount spent on (i) accountants, (ii) consultants, (iii) lawyers and (iv) other professionals in relation to railway privatisation for each year since 1992. [38586]
§ Mr. WattsExpenditure by my Department, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and the Office of the Rail Regulator since 1992–93 is as follows:
£ thousand 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 Accountants 1,702 1,992 5,035 8,837 Lawyers 1,393 4,679 10,659 17,479 Other consultants and professionals 2,405 5,757 11,665 25,401 Expenditure by British Rail and Railtrack is a matter for the organisations themselves, but we understand that their total privatisation costs to the end of 1995–96:
£ million 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 British Rail — 92 85 101 Railtrack — — 46 32 Any breakdown of the figures for BR and Railtrack would be for the organisations themselves to provide.