§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his latest estimates of the expenditure on all external consultants, including management consultants, for each year since 1987, in 1994 prices, for 417W his Department and its agencies; and what are the quantified annual cost savings which such expenditure has resulted in.
§ Mr. SoamesIndividual budget holders in my Department have delegated powers to employ external consultants as they think fit within the limit of their resources and consistent with all requirements for propriety and value for money.
The information requested is, therefore, not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.