§ Pete WishartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what the cost was of acquiring and preparing the Holyrood site; and when and by whom this cost was incurred; [120145]
(2) who originally suggested the Holyrood site as an option for the new Scottish Parliament building; and when that suggestion was made; [120146]
(3) when the final decision was made to choose the Holyrood site as the place for the new Scottish Parliament building; [120147]
(4) what the scheduled opening date for the Scottish Parliament building was immediately prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body; [120149]
(5) whether the communications from Langdon's in respect of the Scottish Parliament building have been published; [121044]
(6) what the estimate for the Scottish Parliament building was when the final site was chosen; and when this matter was considered prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body; [120148]
(7) what representations were received by the Secretary of State for Scotland in advance of the Scottish parliamentary building project being transferred to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body. [120278]
§ Mr. DarlingThe First Minister has announced that he is establishing an investigation by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie and the Auditor General for Scotland, which intends to look at all aspects of the Holyrood project. I foresee no difficulty in Lord Fraser gaining access to all relevant Government papers. Indeed, I understand the Auditor General for Scotland saw Government papers connected with the Holyrood project before devolution when carrying out a previous inquiry.