§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the expenditure of his(a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on external 482W consultants in (i) 1995–96, (ii) 1996–97, (iii) 1997–98 to date and (iv) 1997–98 full year; and if he will also estimate the cost savings resulting from the employment of such consultants for each of the above years. [26586]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 5 February 1998]The sums spent by the Department, and by its Agencies and non-Departmental Public Bodies, on external consultants for the years specified by the hon. Member are as given in the table.
£ 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 April—December 1997–98 Total Core MAFF 12,266,550 10,400,134 4,938,835 10,102,677 Agencies 1,513,975 1,611,678 687,330 1,047,442 NDPBS 183,350 766,253 1,221,165 1,532,431 Total 13,963,875 12,778,065 6,847,330 12,682,550 The expenditure has resulted in the development of new and enhanced systems and working methods and from the transfer of the consultants' expertise and skills in certain fields to permanent staff.