§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years. [33575]
§ Mr. HagueDetails of management and other consultants engaged by the Welsh Office are as follows:
Number of occasions Total payments (£000) 1990–91 24 229 1991–92 38 1,109 1992–93 74 1,416 1993–94 87 1,454 1994–95 45 805
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate which five consultancy firms have received most contracts from his Department(a) by number of contracts and (b) monetary value in the last five years for which figures are available. [33432]
§ Mr. HagueThis information is available only for the three years from 1992–93 to 1994–95. Over this period, the five main firms of management and other consultants engaged by the Welsh Office, by both the number and value of contracts are:
- Coopers and Lybrand
- Howard Humphreys and Partners
- KPMG Peat Marwick
- Price Waterhouse
- Touche Ross
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost of employing consultants in connection with privatisation programmes in which his Department has been engaged since 1980. [33451]
§ Mr. HagueSince 1980, the Welsh Office has not incurred any expenditure on consultants in connection with privatisation programmes.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by his Department and agencies for which it is responsible to(a) Coopers and Lybrand and its subsidiaries, (b) Peat Marwick and its subsidiaries, (c) Ernst and Young and its subsidiaries, (d) Arthur Andersen and its subsidiaries, (e) Price Waterhouse and its subsidiaries, (f) Grant Thornton and its subsidiaries, (g) Stoy Hayward and its subsidiaries, (h) Robson Rhodes 769W and its subsidiaries and (i) Pannel Kerr Forster and its subsidiaries for privatisation, market testing, management advice, accounting, audit, consultancy and other services in 1993–94 and 1994–95. [33905]
§ Mr. HagueOver this period, the Welsh Office has awarded contracts to five of the firms mentioned for consultancy work. Information on the number of contracts awarded is as follows:
1993–94 1994–95 Coopers and Lybrand 4 1 Peat Marwick 3 3 Price Waterhouse 3 1 Grant Thornton — 1 Pannell Kerr Forster 1 — Details of expenditure with individual firms cannot be disclosed for reasons of commercial confidentiality.