§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what contracts his Department has had since 1997 with(a) Arthur Andersen and (b) Accenture for (i) accountancy, (ii) audit and (iii) consultancy work; and what staff have been seconded (A) to his Department from and (B) from his Department to these firms. [32423]
§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total cost to his Department has been of services provided by(a) Andersen and (b) Accenture, Andersen Consulting for (i) accountancy services, (ii) consultancy work and (iii) other work in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [32106]
§ Dr. WhiteheadIndividual Government Departments are responsible for taking decisions on the goods and services they acquire, whether through the private finance initiative (PFI) or other procurement routes, taking into account the Government's policy of seeking value for money for the taxpayer. The public sector as a whole has signed hundreds of contracts, covering the delivery of a range of services.
For details of contracts with Andersen, I refer to the answers given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 7 February 2002, Official Report, column 1097W, and 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 829W. The cost to date on all contracts is £402,157.78.