To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the total cost of investigations and inquiries into the loss of the F V Gaul in 2006 prices. (96789)

The total cost to the Department of investigations and inquiries into the loss of the FV Gaul was £6.5 million.

No adjustment has been made for 2006 prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made towards the implementation of the formal safety recommendations arising from the F V Gaul Re-opened Formal Investigation. (96790)

It is considered that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the recommendations have been implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any evidence of a design fault in the construction and arrangement of the duff and offal chutes on the trawler F V Gaul was made available to the Wreck Commissioner during the 2004 investigation. (96794)

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch provided the inquiry with a copy of a full set of technical drawings for the vessel, a number of which detailed the design of these chutes. These drawings were reviewed by the technical experts and the expert representing the Department for Transport referred to these drawings in the production of the document “Notes on the duff and offal chutes”, submitted to the Re-opened Formal Investigation. These notes included comments on the design of the chutes and the potential design inadequacies.