To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since 1997.

[Official Report, 15 July 2010, Vol. 513, c. 905-906W.]

Letter of correction from Mr Robert Neill:

Errors have been identified in the written answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans) on 15 July 2010.

The errors are in lines one and six, and the total of the table:

Line 1: Communities and Local Government: £9,564,505. The figure should in fact be £4,894,583.

Line 6: Homes and Communities Agency: £11,913,217. The figure should in fact be £10,081,889.

Total: £25,690,648. The figure should in fact be £19,189,397.

The Housing and Communities Agency should read Homes and Communities Agency.

The full answer given was as follows: (7563)

The following table shows total spend on legal advice for the last financial year for (a) the Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

The answer should have been:

The following table shows total spend on legal advice for the last financial year for (a) the Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.