To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 22 March (WA 266), what was the cost of employing consultants and other advisers in connection with (a) the case presented to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in 2006, (b) the responses to the ORR's consultation documents, (c) the presentation of information for the Competition Commission's investigation, and (d) responding to the Commission's questions and consultation documents. [HL3143]

The cost of employing consultants and other advisers (excluding VAT) was as follows:

(a) £2 million between the beginning of 2005 and June 2006, at which point the Department for Transport asked the Office of the Rail Regulation to investigate the rolling stock market;

(b) £0.6 million between July 2006 and April 2007, at which point the Office of Rail Regulation referred the matter to the Competition Commission; and

(c) £2.8 million between May 2007 and April 2009, at which point the Competition Commission published its final report at the end of its rolling stock leasing market investigation.