To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme; and whether the appointment in each case was the result of competitive tendering.

One consultancy firm has been retained by the Department to advise on the market testing programme; it is KPMG Management Consulting which was appointed as a result of competitive tendering.Neither of the agencies within the Department have retained any consultancy firms to advise on the programme.