§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultancy1660W fees by (a) his Department and its predecessors, (b) Network Rail and (c) London Underground in the last three years. [151480]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Department was formed on 29 May 2002. Orders for consultancy to the value of £123.6 million were raised in 2002–03 and £42.1 million in the first nine months of 2003–04.
Network Rail is in the private sector and the Department does not hold details of their spend on consultancy.
London Underground has provided the following information for the last three financial years on consultancy costs: 2000–01 £44.3 million; 2001–02 £42.6 million; 2002–03 £52.0 million. These figures do not include spending on external consultancy by the infrastructure companies, as this information is not held by London Underground. However, they do include the consultancy costs arising from work on the PPP, which totals £103.5 million since March 1998, as explained in the written statement made by my hon. Friend, the parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. McNulty) on 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 121WS. Responsibility for London Underground transferred from central Government to Transport for London (TfL) and the Greater London Authority in July 2003. Expenditure by London Underground is now a matter for TfL and the Mayor.