§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the expenditure of his(a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on external consultants in (i) 1995–96, (ii) 1996–97, (iii) 1997–98 to date and (iv) 1997–98 full year; and if he will also estimate the cost savings resulting from the employment of such consultants for each of the above years. [26572]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 5 February 1998]: Figures for expenditure are as in the table:
£000 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 (to date)
1997–98 (full year)
Customs & Excise 18,700 18,200 13,200 17,500 Inland Revenue 29,500 6,655 3,585 5,100 National Savings 858 1,564 2,700 4,200 Office for National Statistics n/a 2,100 1,200 2,300 Treasury 611 924 997 1,100 The Office for National Statistics was created on 1 April 1996. The Royal Mint has spent a total of £0.3 million on external consultants over 1995–98.
Consultants are employed not only to reduce costs but also to increase Departments' effectiveness; or to carry out specialised tasks for which Departments neither have nor need the staff to carry them out themselves. They have therefore contributed in several ways to Departments' output; and to the cash reductions in the spending of the Chancellor's Departments in recent years.