More than a third of a million dollars has been spent by the Government to fund the Bermuda Independence Commission and its recently published report on independence.

Premier Alex Scott disclosed the cost after a written question from UBP House Leader John Barritt, who wanted to know how much public money has been spent since the 14-strong BIC was set up in December 2004 to consult on the independence issue. He also asked for details of exactly how that money was spent.

In reply the Premier revealed the total cost of the BIC to the Government was $335,252.66 with almost of third of the total being used to cover administrative costs.

The second biggest single item of expense was travel, where almost $58,000 was spent. Since the BIC?s independence report was published in September this year it has created controversy, most notably for its inaccurate statement that independence has never been decided by a referendum, a claim which overlooked Bermuda?s very own 1995 referendum among a clutch of other instances.

The commissioners, who were led by Bishop Vernon Lambe, also came under fire for not including the full United Bermuda Party submission in the final report. Including all supporting material the document ran to 600 pages, with the actual report stretching to 68 pages.

A breakdown of where the rest of the Government?s money was spent shows $50,000 being used for salaries, $39,424 being used for public meetings, $38,046 for publications, $22,363 for catering, $10,030 for contests and gifts and $6,655 for local transport.

Copies of the BIC report, which have not been corrected despite an advertisement being placed in to apologise for the referendum inaccuracy, are available from the office of the Department of Communication and Information at Global House, Church Street.