§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme; and whether the appointment was the result of competitive tendering.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesWe have retained the services of Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte to advise on market testing. They were chosen through competitive tender.
The chief executive of Wilton Park, the FCO's only executive agency, decided not to retain a private sector consultancy in response to the Government's White Paper "Competing for Quality" because of the small size of the agency.
The Overseas Development Administration has separately retained Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte, but without competition. The Natural Resources Institute, an executive agency of ODA, retained KPMG Peat Marwick without competition.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those parts of his Department, including executive agencies, carrying out 213W reviews over the last 12 months into the pay and grading of staff; and the firm of consultants engaged, where appropriate.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesNeither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Overseas Development Administration nor their respective executive agencies have carried out a review of pay and grading over the last 12 months. Decisions on these matters will be taken in the light of Government policy on pay and grading.