§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the expenditure on external consultants for each year since 1997. in 2001 prices, for his Department and its agencies; and what the quantified annual cost savings are which such expenditure has resulted in. [41701]
§ Ms BlearsExpenditure by the Department and its Agencies on external consultants, for each year since 1997 and at 2001 prices, is shown in the table.
FY 1997–98 £million FY 1998–99 £million FY 1999–2000 £million FY 2000–01 £million FY 2001–02* £million Department 12.694 7.332 8.132 6.531 4.400 Agencies 1.634 1.575 3.190 4.047 0.411 * Reported spend as of February 2002, based on information currently available. The Department does not centrally report or record the quantified annual cost savings resulting from expenditure on consultants therefore the final part of this question could only be answered at disproportionate cost.