You should ask your electrician those questions - well, the one about the depth, anyway, as he's the one who will have to certify that it complies with the Building Regulations. Remember it's not just Part P compliance he's signing for, it's all the relevant ones, which in this case includes Part A.
It would be rather unfair to expect him to take responsibility for structural decisions made by somebody else.
Re the conduit (not pipe) - it can be useful if you need to add or remove cables at a later date.