§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the number, nature and value of contracts awarded by his Department to Coopers and Lybrand, KPMG, Price Waterhouse, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Anderson, Grant Thornton, DBO Stoy Hayward, Pannel Kerr Forster, and Robson Rhodes and their subsidiaries and associates, during 1995 and 1996. [37313]
§ Mr. StreeterThe information requested is as follows:
Consultants Number of Contracts Nature Amount £000's Coopers and Lybrand nil — — KPMG nil — — Price Waterhouse nil — — Ernst and Young 1 External Audit 179 1 Research and advice on civil fees 193 Deloitte and Touche nil — — Arthur Anderson 1 Training 20 Grant Thornton nil — — DBO Stoy Hayward 1 External audit 3 Pannel Kerr Forster nil — — Robson Rhodes nil — — The Lord Chancellor is responsible for four agencies; the Court Service, Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office. The question concerns operational matters on which the chief executives are best placed to provide answers. I have accordingly asked them to reply direct.
675WLetter from Michael Huebner to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 19 July 1996:
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to reply to your Question about the number and value of accountancy consultant contracts awarded in 1995 and 1996.
Six contracts have been awarded to the firms referred to in the Question and these are listed below:
Consultant Nature Value KPMG Provide advice on pay systems used in other organisations and help develop the framework for a Court Service pay system £60,000 KPMG Pay and Grading Review—carry out scoping study and assist in preparation of final consultation document £82,735 Price Waterhouse Provide expert advice on the framework and selection process for senior managers £10,692 Price Waterhouse Develop methodology to identify the key performance drivers in the Crown Court trial process £91,000 Cooper and Lybrand Financial advice on accruals accounting requirements £14,700 Binder Hamlyn Fry (part of Arthur Andersen) Financial advice on accruals accounting requirements £13,165 Letter from Julia C. Lomas to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 19 July 1996:
The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to you as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department's response to your Parliamentary Question, listed on 11 July 1996, regarding the number, nature and value of contracts awarded to various firms and their subsidiaries and associates during 1995 and 1996.In 1995 a contract was awarded to Ernst & Young to provide consultancy advice on the Public Trust Office's Information Systems Strategy. Two payments were made in 1995 and 1996 in respect of this contract—one for £36,056.75 in 1995 and the other for £21,478.41 in 1996.Letter from Stuart Hill to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 19 July 1996:
I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question concerning the number, nature and value of contracts awarded to specified companies during 1995 and 1996.Two contracts have been awarded to KPMG as follows:September 1995—Consultancy Services for Market Testing—£14,720.48 (inc.vat)April I996—Business Study and Market Research for National Land Information Service Project—£100,000 (plus vat)Letter from Duncan Simpson to Mr Austin Mitchell, dated 19 July 1996:
676WIn the absence on leave of the Chief Executive, I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply for the Public Record Office to your question about contracts awarded to specified companies during 1995 and 1996.One such contract was let, to Ernst and Young, in 1995. It was for a logistical study and review of procedures in connection with removing 44 linear kilometres of historical records to a different site and subsequent services in making them available to users. The value was £99,500.