§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Lord President of the Council what are his latest estimates of the expenditure on all external consultants, including management consultants, for each year since 1987, in 1994 prices, for his Department; and what are the quantified annual cost savings which such expenditure has resulted in.
§ Mr. NewtonExpenditure of £14,500 was incurred in 1994 by the central drugs co-ordination unit in respect of research conducted on its behalf by the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence. This work was not undertaken for cost-saving purposes.
No other relevant expenditure has occurred since 1987, nor does the Privy Council Office have any current plans to engage external consultants.