Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 July,Official Report, column 550, which sections in his Department made the payments for external legal costs in the cases in which his Departments has been judged to have acted unlawfully; which section or office holder is responsible for ensuring that these external costs are not excessive and how this is achieved; where the records are kept of each case in the last five years in which his Department's actions have been judged to be unlawful; if the personal injury claims arose from the unlawful action; what was the method of recording the total external legal costs of each of these actions; and if Ministers are informed of costs (a) as cases progress and (b) at the end of a case. [38887]
§ Mr. Howard[holding answer 22 July 1996]: My previous reply of 17 July, Official Report, column 550, explained that my Department does not keep central records of all the legal cases against it over the past 200 years. In the circumstances it is impossible to provide the details requested without incurring disproportionate costs.