§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been spent by his Department on external consultants and advisers since May 1997 funded from (i) his Department's programme provision and (ii) his Department's running costs. [99492]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 24 November 1999]: The Department's programme provision funds benefit payments only.
Information in respect of the Department's expenditure on consultants is in the table.
Departmental expenditure on consultants £ million Financial year Expenditure on management consultants Expenditure on IT consultants Total expenditure April 1997 to March 1998 11.6 8.3 19.9 April 1998 to March 1999 13.0 14.2 27.2 April 1999 to October 1999 13.1 5.6 18.7 Notes:
1. Figures rounded to nearest 100,000.
2. The expenditure has been incurred on a number of major IT and change initiatives.