HC Deb 19 July 1995 vol 263 cc1329-31W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Attorney-General if he will indicate which five consultancy firms have received most contracts from his Department(a) by number of contracts and (b) monetary value in the last five years for which figures are available. [33443]

The Attorney-General

The information indicates, for each of the Departments for which I am responsible,(a) those consultancy firms with which the greatest number of consultancy contracts were concluded1 and (b) those consultancy firms with the contracts of greatest total monetary value2, in each case for the five years 1990–91 to 1994–95.

Number of contracts Monetary value £ thousand
Serious Fraud Office
(a) 1. (ACT) Network SI Group Ltd. 3
2. Amtec Consulting Ltd. 2
Digitus Ltd. 2
Hedra Ltd. 2
Hoskyns Group plc3 2
Insight Consulting 2
Morgan Lovell Ltd. 2
SHL Systemhouse Inc. 2
(b) 1. Digitus Ltd. 154
2. Hoskyns Group plc 121.2
3. Hedra Ltd. 73.4
4. Ernst and Young 58.8
5. Central Office of Information 56.3
Crown Prosecution Service
(a) 1. Shapes Graphic Design 8
2. PE International 6
3. Touche-Ross 6
4. Infact Ltd. 4
Sequelogic Ltd. 4
(b)4
Treasury Solicitor's Department
(a) 1. BDO Consulting 6
2. Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency 5
3. J. Blair 3
4. Pannell Kerr Forster Associates 2
Recruitment Advisory Service 2
(b) 1. BDO Consulting 601.3
2. Pannell Kerr Forster Associates 78.8
3. Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency 61.3
4. J. Blair 53.1
5. Recruitment Advisory Service 22.3
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers
Nil
1 Figures in (a) give the number of contracts entered into.
2 Figures in (b) give the total monetary value of the contracts concerned.
3 Includes ABT International.
4 This information is available only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Attorney-General how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years. [33500]

The Attorney-General

The information is set out in the table.

£ thousand
Department 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 0 0 0 0 0
Crown Prosecution Service 477(7) 471(12) 665(24) 693(52) 1699(52)
Serious Fraud Office 171(4) 88(2) 112(9) 149(6) 1242(10)
Treasury Solicitor's Department Not known 54(6) 335(8) 428(14) 125(8)
1 Unaudited

Note:

Figures in brackets represent the number of contracts that year.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Attorney-General if he will estimate the cost of employing consultants in connection with privatisation programmes in which his Department has been engaged since 1980. [33463]

The Attorney-General

Nil.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Attorney-General how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by his Department and agencies for which it is responsible to(a) Coopers and Lybrand and its subsidiaries, (b) Peat Marwick and its subsidiaries, (c) Ernst and Young and its subsidiaries, (d) Arthur Andersen and its subsidiaries, (e) Price Waterhouse and its subsidiaries, (f) Grant Thornton and its subsidiaries, (g) Stoy Hayward and its subsidiaries, (h) Robson Rhodes and its subsidiaries and (i) Pannell Kerr Forster and its subsidiaries for privatisation, market testing, management advice, accounting, audit, consultancy and other services in 1993–94 and 1994–95. [33920]

The Attorney-General

The information with respect to the firms used by the Departments and agency for which I am responsible is as follows:

1993–94 1994–95
Serious Fraud Office
Cooper and Lybrand 1,421 (0) 361 (1)
Peat Marwick 612 (0) 282 (1)
Ernst and Young 186 (1) 217 (1)
Price Waterhouse 88 (2) 48 (1)
Grant Thornton 59 (0) 261 (0)
Robson Rhodes 8 (0) 106 (2)
Treasury Solicitor's Department
Arthur Anderson 356 (3) 8 (2)
Pannell Kerr Forster 79 (2)
Crown Prosecution Service
Coopers and Lybrand 12 (1)
Ernst and Young 37 (2)
Price Waterhouse 17 (1)
Government Property Lawyers
Coopers and Lybrand 1 (1)
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers
Nil

Notes:

1. Figures before the brackets represent expenditure in £000, to the nearest £1,000, on, contracts both new and continuing during the financial year in question.

2. Figures in brackets represent the number of new contracts entered into during the financial year in question.