§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the contracts agreed by his Department with the five largest accountancy firms since May 1997; and what was the total value of contracts with each. [42100]
§ Mr. WillsThe Lord Chancellor's Department replies on behalf of its agencies, the Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office, and the Lord Chancellor's other departments, the Northern Ireland Court Service, HM Land Registry and the Public Records Office. The information requested is as follows:
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Number of contracts £ PricewaterhouseCoopers 1997–98 3 460,056 1998–99 9 2,193,703 1999–2000 3 360,693 2000–01 4 65,812 20011 3 73,717
Number of contracts £ Ernst and Young 1997–98 nil — 1998–99 1 227,588 1999–2000 1 29,375 2000–01 2 481,749 20011 3 301,720 Deloitte and Touche 1997–98 nil — 1998–99 1 231,475 1999–2000 4 77,546 2000–01 4 193,778 20011 11 905,050 KPMG 1997–98 3 340,426 1998–99 1 1,433 1999–2000 3 56,025 2000–01 1 4,183 20011 1 29,375 Andersen2 — — 1 To date. 2 No contracts have been let during the time period stated. These contracts were primarily let in relation to financial, technical and legal advice for PR projects, business management advice for major projects and advice on IT requirements.
The Northern Ireland Court Service could not produce figures for 1997–98, as the information is not stored on their current accounting system.