(259)  HOLYROOD INQUIRY

The inquiry into the building costs of the Scottish Parliament, to be chaired by Lord Fraser of Carmylie, will itself have a budget of up to £1.2 million.  Lord Fraser’s fees will be restricted to around £150,000.  It is not clear how long the investigation will take, although Lord Fraser hopes to publish a report by summer 2004.  The inquiry will work its way through the whole process of procuring the building, including decisions about the site, and former Ministers and civil servants are expected to be called as witnesses.  The Lord Advocate has indicated that evidence given in the inquiry will not be used against the witness in any subsequent criminal proceedings, but Lord Fraser points out that this is not a grant of immunity from prosecution.  The inquiry will take place in the premises of the Scottish Land Court, 1 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh.  Like the Hutton inquiry into the death of the weapons expert Dr David Kelly, the Holyrood inquiry has a website:   http://www.holyroodinquiry.org.