HC Deb 05 March 2002 vol 381 cc279-81W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health 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. [31042]

Mr. Hutton

The total external spend by the Department on private finance initiative consultancy work from 1998 to date is £607,701.02; broken down and is shown in the table.

Private finance initiative consultancy work 1998 to date
Year Cost (£) Number of firms
1998 270,219.50 2
1999 108,824.29 2
2000 60,379.66 4
2001 168,277.57 6

The fees charged in the majority of cases was for specific work at an agreed cost with the company. It is therefore not possible to calculate how many consultants were employed, nor how many consultancy days there were per year.