To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many draft reports from the investigators of the collapse of MG Rover were provided to the Government for comment before publication of the final report on 11 September 2009. (292929)

[holding answer 14 October 2009]: The Government were involved in the MG Rover inspection both as supervisor and as a witness. An information barrier was put in place at an early stage to keep the information held by those supervising the inspection separate from Government witnesses and their advisers.

Officials involved in the supervision of the inspection read a draft of each of the chapters of the Inspectors' report as they became available and fed comments back to the Inspectors. The Inspectors continued to work on the drafts and, where they made substantive amendments, officials re-read chapters or sections of chapters. The drafts were read at the offices of the Secretariat to the inspection.

The Government also provided information and gave witness evidence to the inspection. As with other witnesses to the inspection, Government witnesses and their advisers were given an opportunity to comment on provisional criticisms from the Inspectors. Some extracts of the draft report were also provided to the Government witnesses and their advisers where the Inspectors intended to make specific reference to Government evidence.