§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the expenditure of his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on all external consultants including management consultants for each of the years(a) 1979–80, (b) 1989–90, (c) 1991–92, (d) 1993–94, (e) 1994–95 and (f) 1995–96 (i) to date and (ii) as estimated for the whole year; what estimate he has made of such expenditure for 1996–97; and if he will estimate the savings accruing to his Department from the use of consultants in each of these years. [11367]
§ Mrs. Angela Knight[holding answer 25 January 1996]: Information prior to 1991 and details of savings accruing, which are not held centrally, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The cost of employing consultants in the other years requested is shown in the table. The figures include expenditure incurred on professional fees in connection with the privatisation programme.
Expenditure on consultancy £ million (excluding VAT) 1991–92 9.1 1993–94 6.4 1994–95 5.5 1995–96 (to date) 1.9 1995–96 (whole year estimate) 2.0 Detailed figures as to expenditure on consultants in future years are not yet available.