§ Mr. KeyTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the Commission has made of the marginal cost of recalling the House this September, and if he will make a statement. [186359]
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodThe daily costs of sitting days in September are similar to those of sitting days at other times of year. Such costs include staff overtime, telecommunications and postal costs, together with infrastructure costs such as heating.
As a result of having a shorter summer recess than in some previous years, some additional costs may arise from the need to interrupt some elements of the summer works programme. However, as the September sitting was taken into account when the programme was planned, the additional costs are relatively modest, estimated at around £88,000 against a total works programme spend of £19 million.