A number of questions regarding the renovation of Clifton, the new official residence of Premier Alex Scott have been posed to Government regarding the full cost, including the fixtures and fittings, and the names of contractors who bid to carry out the renovation work.

It is believed the work to upgrade the 200-year-old home in Devonshire to make it the official residence for the Premier and all future Premiers of Bermuda is around $1.4 million.

In a request at Senate, Opposition Sen. ET (Bob) Richards has asked for the cost of the entire renovation as well as specific breakdowns to indicate the amount spent on construction, fittings, furnishings and appliances.

He as also asked for the names of contractors who bid for the renovation contract, the price of each individual bid and the name of the successful bidder.

And in a third question he has asked if a detailed quantity survey was requested by Government for the renovations and if so by whom and their projected costs for the renovations before the work was started.

The cost of using nine outside consultants by the Attorney General?s Chambers since July 2003 is $329,527.

In response to an Opposition question in the Senate about the number of consultants and the cost of the outside expertise the AG?s Chambers has provided a list of the nine consultants used during the past three years and their roles on the Island.

Most were required to assist in legislative drafting or to conduct a study on law revision. As well as the total cost of fees, a further $25,000 was paid out in associated expenses for the overseas consultants.

And Senator Kim Swan asked to how much money Government spent seeking the services of a top overseas lawyer for the Court of Appeal case regarding the block placed on the selling of the $45 million Goldeneye property to non-Bermudian buyers.

On the second day of the appeal case the Government performed a U-turn using a discretion under a 1956 statute to allow the Tucker?s Town home to be marketed to international buyers. Sen. Swan has asked Attorney General Larry Mussenden to state how much Government has paid for the services of Professor Jeffrey Jowell QC in relation to the case.

And in two further written parliamentary questions he has asked if the AG?s Chambers has a policy on when legal counsel from overseas is employed on behalf of the Government and, if so, what the policy actually is and also why the decision had been made to use an overseas counsel in the GoldenEye case.

The answers to the questions are expected to be given when the Senate next meets on July 5.