Supplementary Section 40: Expenses of witnesses etc
97.Legal costs of participants often constitute the most significant part of the total cost of an inquiry. The non-statutory position adopted in recent inquiries has been for the Minister to decide, in consultation with the chairman, to fund those participating in the inquiry who are considered to have such a direct interest in the inquiry that they require representation but who may be unable to pay for representation themselves. The Government would not normally meet the costs of large organisations. This section enables this practice to continue. The chairman automatically has the power to pay costs, but the Minister can place qualifications on that power. The Minister will generally set out any broad conditions under which payment may be granted, and the chairman will then take the individual decisions.
98.The legal costs of Government witnesses might be met by the sponsoring department under the mechanism set out in this section, but not necessarily. If the witnesses were from a different department, their own department might pay for their representation, putting them in the same position as any other large organisation, to whom the inquiry would not usually grant funding.