§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 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 its agencies; and what are the quantified annual cost savings which such expenditure has resulted in.
§ Mr. JackExpenditure on consultants in each of the years concerned was as follows:
Financial year Expenditure £ Expenditure at 1994 prices £ 1987–88 44,015 61,887 1988–89 1,174,114 1,547,016 1989–90 2,972,150 3,661,506 1990–91 4,495,793 5,125,327 1991–92 5,374,284 5,761,665 1992–93 7,010,814 7,238,665 1993–94 12,169,785 12,169,785 1994–95 111,534,575 — 1 Estimated. The figures for 1987–88 exclude computer consultants.
It is not possible to quantify savings accruing from this expenditure, since most of the benefits derive from new systems and working methods, and from the consultants' expertise in certain fields, in which permanent staff do not have the necessary knowledge and experience.