If they have been met then the final decision will befor the British people.”One senior government insider said Mr Byers’ speech was intended to prove that Mr Mandelson’s resignation had not weakened the pro-euro cause in the Cabinet “We will not make it harder to pass the tests There will be no backtracking .. There are clear benefits of joining,” the source said.. The House of Commons spent £13m of taxpayers’ money on legal fees and compensation in disputes arising from the construction of a new office block for MPs, according to a report published today. The House of Commons spent £13m of taxpayers’ money on legal fees and compensation in disputes arising from the construction of a new office block for MPs, according to a report published today.
The National Audit Office report found Commons authorities spent £4.6m unsuccessfully defending a law suit against an American contractor. The Commons eventually paid Harmon Facades (UK) Ltd £5.3m in an out-of-court settlement after the company did not win a contract for work on Portcullis House despite submitting a bid £2m cheaper than the successful company.The rising cost of the £233m building is recorded in the NAO report. MPs have already criticised the cost of the new parliamentary building, which includes an elegant atrium with imported trees from Florida, a limestone front desk that cost £75,000 and £440 reclining chairs for MPs.The NAO report found that delays in completing the building had led to compensation payments to contractors of £2,254,797. Last year, said the report, the House of Commons “made additional compensation payments to contractors of around £910,000″.The report is part of a wider inquiry into the new parliamentary building by Sir John Bourn, the Auditor General, which will be published later this year.

Last year a judge ruled that Parliament had discriminated against Harmon Facades, which failed to gain a £34m contract to provide the exterior bronze cladding for the building.The Commons authorities reached an out-of-court settlement with Harmon in August last year, paying more than £5m in compensation But it paid almost as much in legal expenses. “As at December 2000, the total costs incurred by the House of Commons in connection with the Harmon case amounted to some £9.9m, of which £4.6m is related to legal expenses incurred by the House in defending the case,” the report said.Lawyers representing Harmon said the House of Commons could have saved money by settling the case earlier.. Ministers are to consider plans to bring the National Lottery under state control under a sweeping review of the game’s regulations after last year’s chaotic handling of the next lottery licence. Ministers are to consider plans to bring the National Lottery under state control under a sweeping review of the game’s regulations after last year’s chaotic handling of the next lottery licence.
Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, told MPs yesterday that the review would look at the model used in the United States, where state-run lotteries hire private contractors to operate key parts of the system, rather than the entire game.Mr Smith warned the Commons committee on culture, media and sport that he was “agnostic” about having a nationalised lottery.

But he signalled that other proposals to introduce greater competition for lottery licences would be seriously considered when the review begins next year.The minister was giving evidence to the committee after the dramatic rows that dogged the selection of the next lottery licence, which saw the National Lottery Commission losing a High Court action brought by Camelot. Three months later, Camelot succeeded in overturning the earlier decision to select Sir Richard Branson’s The People’s Lottery bid.Mr Smith defended the conduct of the commission yesterday, but hinted some of its members may not seek a further term of office after their conduct was condemned by Camelot and the media. “It may well be that some members of the commission themselves will decide that they’ve had a good stint and want to stand down in due course.”He confirmed that the review, which is expected to begin after the next election, would look closely at what went wrong during the selection process and at ways of introducing much greater competition and efficiency into the process.Last month, Lord Burns, the commission chairman, told the committee he believed ministers should consider allowing separate operators to set up the national network of terminals and software, and then invite competition to run the game itself. He likened this proposal to Railtrack’s ownership of the rail network, in which train operators run services.Mr Smith confirmed yesterday he believed that the system, in which only two major international companies, GTech and AWI, can provide the correct level of expertise meant only two bidders could compete for the licence. The system also favours the existing licence holder, who has a clear advantage against any other rival.”It has been said to me by quite a number of people now that an option could perhaps be to see a lottery that is effectively owned by the nation, through the Government, but that each individual service for the running of that lottery is contracted out to different suppliers.”That’s obviously a model that works in other parts of the world. It’s a model that I’m sure will need to be considered by that review.

At this stage, I’m agnostic on the question.”Any such system would not be introduced until the existing licence runs out in 2009. It would involve breaking the lottery up, with different operators running different parts, such as the game show, advertising and scratch cards.Mr Smith also confirmed to Derek Wyatt, the Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, that he supported proposals to introduce lottery funding schemes that would plough set percentages of lottery spending into the poorer towns and cities that spent the most.. Jobless people waste years on the dole before they are admitted to government retraining schemes, an influential committee of MPs said yesterday. Discrimination by employers led many people to make repeated but fruitless job applications before they could get help, members of the all-party Employment Select Committee said. Jobless people waste years on the dole before they are admitted to government retraining schemes, an influential committee of MPs said yesterday.