§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total external spend by his Department was on Private Finance Initiative consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [31034]
§ Mr. Paul MurphySince the Wales Office came into being in July 1999 it has incurred no such expenditure.
In the period from April 1998 to July 1999 the former Welsh Office spent some £770,000 on consultancies relating to the PFI aspect of the A55 road in North Wales; there were also two secondees into the Welsh Office during that period advising on PFI matters.