To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on his Department's policy when (a) conducting legal proceedings and (b) seeking legal advice as to the circumstances in which Queen's Counsel should be instructed; and for each of the last three years (i) on how many occasions his Department instructed Queen's Counsel and (ii) what was the total cost of instructing Queen's Counsel. [81769]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General, Official Report, 26 April 1999, column 1.The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.