§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. Robert G. Hughes[holding answer 9 February 1995]: This information is not held centrally and for the period prior to 1992–93 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The costs of all external consultants, including management consultants, met by Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science and its agencies, since 1992–93 are as follows:
Cabinet Office including OPSS and its agencies1 £ 1994 prices 1992–93 6,450,700 1993–94 6,898,300 1 Includes operational business expenditure undertaken by CCTA on behalf of other Departments. The major portion of this expenditure is incurred by CCTA on information technology projects to enable Government Departments to enhance the effectiveness of their IT systems.
The costs of all external consultants, including management consultants, met by COI and HMSO since 1992–93 are as follows:
427W
£ (1994 Prices) COI 1992–93 143,400 1993–94 58,200
£ (1994 Prices) HMSO 1992 431,100 1993 1,082,200 1994 1,750,750 Consultants are used in a variety of activities designed to produce different types of benefits. Much of the work undertaken by consultants is linked to the requirement of Government programmes such as training and designing IT systems, rather than cost saving exercises. In the financial year 1993–94 the OPSS spent £70,838 on consultancy support for its central market testing programme, which produced quantifiable savings of £393,924.