§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his Department's policy when(a) conducting legal proceedings and (b) seeking legal advice as to the circumstances in which Queen's Counsel should be instructed; and for each of the last three years (i) on how many occasions his Department instructed Queen's Counsel and (ii) what was the total cost of instructing Queen's Counsel. [81765]
97W
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department does use Queen's Counsel in the conduct of its litigation. They are used for important and complex cases. For the rest, the Department uses the panel counsel referred to in the Written Answer to the hon. Member from my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General on 26 April 1999,Official Report, columns 1–2. Approval for off-panel counsel is sought from my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General as necessary. Records are not maintained in a form which would enable the number of occasions in which the Department has instructed Queen's Counsel to be identified in the last three years and the cost of doing so would incur disproportionate cost.