asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 21 April (WA 257) concerning convictions for the murder of police officers in Northern Ireland, what is the level set which would be considered to be a disproportionate cost; how it was calculated; and by whom; and [HL3202]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 30 April (WA 27) about convictions in Northern Ireland, what is the disproportionate cost referred to; who calculated it; and on what basis. [HL3441]

The disproportionate cost threshold (DCT) is set by the Treasury and is currently £700, as Lord McKenzie of Luton announced to the House by Written Statement on 28 November 2006.

The DCT is set at eight times the average marginal cost of answering written PQs. The marginal cost is the direct cost of civil servants' time in preparing answers for Written PQs or producing the relevant data.