Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Publish clear, regular transparency report detailing external legal costs across all redress schemes.
Recommendation
The Department should publish a regular transparency report detailing external legal costs incurred under all schemes. It is important that the report is produced in a manner that minimises the potential for wider confusion about the basis under which legal costs are billed, distinguishing the cost of disbursements incurred by firms where possible. Where separation of cost categories is not possible, the Department should provide a clear and accessible summary of the meaning and limitations of the data provided. (Recommendation, Paragraph 66) 28
Government Response Summary
The government commits to publishing a quarterly transparency report detailing external legal costs on gov.uk, building on previous updates provided to the Committee.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
• The Department is happy to commit to publishing these data on a quarterly basis. • We have previously been providing regular updates to the Select Committee on spend across schemes, including on external legal costs. This has been shared by way of a quarterly update letter from Government Ministers, which has then been published on the Committee’s website. • In light of your recommendations, however, we will now publish this information on gov.uk. • In common with the rest of Government, the Department also routinely publishes all transactions it makes over £25k on a quarterly basis.