Written question asked by Robin Cook (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 12 February 1997. It was answered by Lord Clarke of Nottingham (Conservative) on Wednesday, 12 February 1997 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: If he will provide a breakdown of the spending by his Department on external advice in relation to the Scott Inquiry, indicating how much has been spent on legal advice and from whom it was obtained. - Inc figs. (Holding answer 6 February 1997).

Answer: Mr. Robin Cook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown of the spending by his Department on external advice in relation to the Scott inquiry, indicating how much has been spent on legal advice and from whom it was obtained. [14539] Mr. Kenneth Clarke: [holding answer 6 February 1997]: The amount spent by my departments on external advice, including legal advice, in relation to giving evidence to the Scott inquiry and the preparation of the Government's response to it, is £83,740. Of this figure, the cost of legal advice amounted to £74,080, which was the cost to Customs and Excise of external legal advice obtained from two firms of solicitors, Lewis Silkin and Clifford Chance, including the cost of legal advice to counsel required to provide evidence to the inquiry in relation to the Customs prosecutions being examined. The balance of the figure was incurred by the Treasury for general consultancy services of a non-legal nature.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 14539; 290 c195-6W
Session: 1996-97
Subjects: Expenditure Government departments Legal opinion Treasury Arms to Iraq Inquiry
Contains statistics: Yes