Written question asked by Nigel Evans (Conservative) on Friday, 22 November 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 December 2002. It was answered by Chris Leslie (Labour) on Thursday, 5 December 2002 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much the Government spent on start-up costs for the (a) National Assembly for Wales and (b) Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government spent on start-up costs for the (a) National Assembly for Wales and (b) Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [83792] Mr. Leslie: Expenditure by the former Welsh Office on preparations for the National Assembly for Wales was £2.7 million. This includes the costs of the current interim Assembly building, the new building and the costs of staff directly attributed to the preparations for the Assembly. There were additional staff costs across the Welsh Office associated with the preparations for the Assembly but these are not separately identifiable. Expenditure by the former Scottish Office on preparations for the Scottish Parliament was £13.4 million. These figures relate to costs for the current interim Parliament building, the new building (including purchase of the site) and those staff costs that can be directly attributed to preparations for the Scottish Parliament. There were other staff costs associated with preparations for the Parliament or on devolution generally involving staff working across most areas of the Scottish Office, but this expenditure was not recorded separately.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 83792; 395 c936W;395 c934W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Costs Devolution Expenditure Legislatures National Assembly for Wales Scottish Parliament
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk