§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the firms of consultants used by his Department as part of the market testing programme since November 1991 together with the total cost; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryThe following firms of consultants have been used by the Department as part of its market testing programme since November 1991:
- Amtec Consulting;
- Coopers and Lybrand;
- Gould Consultants;
- Hoskyns Group;
- Leopold Joseph and Sons Ltd.
These private sector consultancies together with self-employed purchasing specialists used by the Department have helped to
- identify suitable candidates for market testing;
- evaluate services currently provided;
- provide training in market testing;
- support in-house bids;
- conduct the competition phase of market testing.
The total cost of these services to date is £80,926.