§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Solicitor-General what costs have been incurred by her Department in connection with the Saville inquiry; and what her estimate is of the final cost to her Department. [29066]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Departments for which the Attorney-General answers in Parliament are the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Treasury Solicitor's Department, as well as his own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers.
The Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office have not incurred any costs in connection with the Bloody Sunday inquiry and do not expect to do so.
879WThe Treasury Solicitor's Department carries out legal work for other Departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, on a full cost recovery basis. While substantial work has been done by the Treasury Solicitor's Department in relation to the inquiry, in so far as that work is directly connected with the inquiry, the cost will be recovered or has been recovered from the client Department or Departments represented. The Treasury Solicitor's Department has provided representation before the inquiry for two ex-members of staff. The cost of this representation, which has been borne by the Department, is approximately £15,500.
The Attorney-General and lawyers in both the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers will, in the normal course of their duties, have been called upon to give advice on certain matters arising as a result of the Bloody Sunday inquiry. In so far as these costs can be assessed, an approximate figure would be £70,500. No assessment can be made of what the final cost may be as it will depend on whether further advice or assistance is sought or becomes necessary.