asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 1 July (WA 31–2) concerning the cost of inquiries in Northern Ireland, how much of the £16.75 million cost of the Billy Wright inquiry has been incurred by the family's legal team; what is the estimated final cost of the inquiry; and whether a cap will be set on the costs. [HL4847]
£652,000 has been incurred by the family's legal team. The estimated final cost of the inquiry is £28.9 million.
There are no plans to set a cap on the inquiry's overall cost, which might curtail the inquiry before it has fulfilled its terms of reference and thus waste the money already spent. However, the Secretary of State has set caps on the individual hourly fee levels for lawyers who are publicly funded to provide legal assistance for interested parties and witnesses, at the following levels:
Senior Counsel—£200;
Junior Counsel—£100; and
Solicitors—£150.
He has also set a cap of 40 hours a week that may be claimed. This may be extended to 60 hours during the oral hearings, and a two-month period before they commence, upon application to the inquiry chairman provided this is justified in all the circumstances. These limitations are enforced by means of a formal notice of determination under Section 40(4) of the Inquiries Act 2005.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 1 July (WA 31–2) concerning the cost of inquiries in Northern Ireland, how much of the £27.39 million cost of the Rosemary Nelson inquiry has been incurred by the family's legal team; what is the estimated final cost of the inquiry; and whether a cap will be set on the costs. [HL4848]
£1.28 million has been incurred by the family's legal team. The estimated final cost of the Inquiry is £42.1 million.
There are no plans to set a cap on the inquiry's overall cost, which might curtail the inquiry before it has fulfilled its terms of reference and thus waste the money already spent. However, the Rosemary Nelson inquiry has been formally instructed to operate within the same limits on lawyers' fees and hours which the Secretary of State has imposed on the Hamill and Wright inquiries, through a funding protocol.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 1 July (WA 31–2) concerning the cost of inquiries in Northern Ireland, how much of the £15.62 million cost of the Robert Hamill inquiry has been incurred by the family's legal team; what is the estimated final cost of the inquiry; and whether a cap will be set on the costs. [HL4849]
£1.05 million has been incurred by the family's legal team. The estimated final cost of the inquiry is £32.4 million.
There are no plans to set a cap on the inquiry's overall cost, which might curtail the inquiry before it has fulfilled its terms of reference and thus waste the money already spent. However, the Secretary of State has set caps on the individual hourly fee levels for lawyers who are publicly funded to provide legal assistance for interested parties and witnesses, at the following levels:
Senior Counsel—£200;
Leading Junior Counsel—£175;
Junior Counsel—£100; and
Solicitors—£150.
He has also set a cap of 40 hours a week that may be claimed. This may be extended to 60 hours during the oral hearings, and a two-month period before they commence, upon application to the inquiry chairman provided this is justified in all the circumstances. These limitations are enforced by means of a formal notice of determination under Section 40(4) of the Inquiries Act 2005.