Written question asked by Mark Oaten (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 12 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 November 2003. It was answered by Chris Leslie (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 November 2003 on behalf of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Dept for Constitutional Affairs

Question: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many staff are employed on the House of Lords reform programme; and at what cost in the last year for which figures are available. - Including figures.

Answer: Mr. Oaten: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff are employed on the House of Lords reform programme; and at what cost in the last year for which figures are available. [139244] Mr. Leslie: Since August 2003, five officials have been working on the House of Lords reform programme. It is estimated that the final cost for this year will be around £227,000. The cost of the unit for the last full financial year was £181,000 (although at that time fewer officials were working on House of Lords reform and they were also engaged on other duties within the Department).

Secondary information