§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which economic consultancies have been commissioned by HM Treasury in(a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003; and in each case what the cost was of each consultancy. [123664]
§ John HealeyComplete information for all the periods requested could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. The following consultancies have been identified from information readily available:
- Taxation of Farming.
- Identifying the drivers of regional productivity.
- The effects of uncertainty on investment.
- Correlation of business cycles in the UK with other major economies.
- Shocks that have influenced economic cycles.
- Why EU R and D is lower than US levels.
- Economic impact of EU enlargement.
- Productivity in the EU and the US.
- EU/US trade. (Jointly funded study with Dutch Finance Ministry).
- Regional Performance.
- Analysis for HMT's Productivity in the UK series.
- Update the UK's generational accounts.
- Britain's relative productivity performance.
- New "Green Book" guidance on appraisal and evaluation in central Government.
- Relationship between wages, employment and the participation rate.
- Team based incentives.
- Public service productivity.
- Equilibrium exchange rates.
- EMU cyclical convergence and shocks.
- Exchange rate economics.
- Housing market and monetary policy transmissions.
- US as a monetary union.
- Monetary policy transmission.
- Export market performance of OECD countries.
- Labour market issues.
- Location of financial activity.
- Monetary union and trade.
- Fiscal stabilisation in EMU.
- Impact of EMU on business sectors.
- Minimum benchmarks under the EU Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact.
- Policy Frameworks.
- Prices and competition in the EU and USA.
- Transatlantic Relations (Jointly funded study with the Dutch Finance Ministry).
- Trademarks exhaustion.
The specific costs of individual consultancies cannot be disclosed for commercial reasons. Total expenditure on the projects above was £413,000.