§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total expenditure by his Department in 1979–80 and each succeeding year on management consultants or accountants and other firms undertaking similar work, at constant prices.
§ Mr. FowlerExpenditure on external consultancies was:
£ thousand* 1979–80 626 1980–81 502 1981–82 854 1982–83 1,437 1983–84 3,784 1984–85 7,726 * 1984–85 prices. The substantial increase in recent years is mainly in connection with the several large computer projects being planed by my Department as part of the social security operational strategy.