asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions on which his Department has used from outside the Civil Service (a) accountants, (b) management consultants and (c) other consultants since June 1979, giving in each case the dates and nature of the assignment, together with the names of the individuals, partnerships or institutions involved.

Accountants and consultants from outside the Civil Service are, and have been, used on a wide variety of occasions and projects. Following is the past and planned expenditure on accountants and consultants from outside the Civil Service since 1979.

1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million
13·5	14·5	26·0	48·2

These totals cover a large number of assignments, particularly in the field of highway design and contract supervision, and a large number of types of assignment. It would be unduly expensive to list them in the detail requested.