To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse has been of (a) staging mock trials to test the viability of intercept evidence in court and (b) other costs incurred in reviewing the use of intercept evidence since the commissioning of the Chilcot Review. (308844)

[holding answer 6 January 2010]: The information is as follows:

(A) The cost of the ‘model test’ phase of the IaE work programme which consisted of the trial simulation and live testing of interception processes is estimated at around £1.2 million.

(B) As set out in ‘Intercept as Evidence, A Report (Cm7660)’ published under cover of my written ministerial statement of 10 December 2009, Official Report, column 31WS, the total cost of the work programme across all agencies and Departments involved since March 2008 is estimated at around £2.5 million.

The costs of the original Privy Council review (Cm7324) were set out in that report as £0.1 million.