§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been spent to date on legal, financial and other consultancy costs for the public/private partnership for London Underground. [64573]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonLondon Transport employs a number of firms to provide advice on implementing the PPP, jointly to LT and the Government. this innovative arrangement ensures that LT and the Government receive the best advice, while minimising the overall cost of implementing the PPP.
I understand from London Transport that their expenditure on external consultants, from 20 March 1998 (the date of the Government's announcement) to 2 January 1999, for work on the PPP and restructuring London Underground was £9.85 million. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it is not possible to give figures for the costs of employing individual firms. For the future, I intend to publish updated figures at the end of the financial year and, therefore, at six-monthly intervals.