To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many civil lawsuits have been brought against his Department and its predecessors based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since the Act came into force. (166877)

The Department does not collect central records of cases brought against it in which grounds contained in the Human Rights Act 1998 have been relied on and so the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.