§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many private consultants were employed by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what was the total cost.
§ Mr. GoodladThere are three categories of external consultants as defined by the Cabinet Office efficiency scrutiny. This is: "Investigating problems, providing analysis or advice, or assisting with the development of new systems, new structures or new capabilities within the organisation".
The diplomatic wing spent £704,542 on the hire of management consultants, £8,600,000 on the commission 265W of estate and building works consultants and £4,915,000 on technical support in the information technology area.
The total number of contracts was 460 at a total cost of £14,219,542. The aid wing spent £681,123 on the hire of management consultants, £55,000 on IT consultancies and £234,045,056 on consultants involved in the aid programme overseas. The total number of contracts was 1,181 at a total cost of £234,781,179.