Supreme Court

Mr. Pope
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) original estimated cost and (b) most recent estimated cost of the new Supreme Court building in London was.

Mr. Straw
As announced on 14 June 2007, the estimated set-up costs for the UK Supreme Court are £36.7 million for capital construction, which will be met over a 30-year period through rental payments of £2.1 million per annum, increasing at a rate of 2.5 per cent per annum, plus £20.2 million of other set-up costs (including provision of library, visitor and dining facilities). The only change to this estimate is an additional £2 million for repair work I announced on 3 July 2008, Official Report, column 59WS, and new security measures. The House will be updated of costs once we have the final figure.