To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years. [33562]

Information has not been held centrally for the full period in question, and information prior to 1992–93 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. On the best information currently available details of external consultancy contracts for the years from 1992–93 are as follows:

year	Number of contracts	Value £000's
1992–93	74	3,455
1993–94	72	1,224
1994–95	84	1,640

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will estimate the cost of employing consultants in connection with privatisation programmes in which his Department has been engaged since 1980. [33464]

No Department for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible has incurred any consultancy costs in connection with privatisation programmes since 1980.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will indicate which five consultancy firms have received most contracts from his Department (a) by number of contracts and (b) monetary value in the last five years for which figures are available. [33444]

This information has not been held centrally, and figures for the years before 1992–93 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. On the best information currently available, the five consultancy firms which have won the most contracts for the years from 1992–93 are:

Consultants	Number of contracts	Value £000s
1. Myriad Computer Services	9	190
2. Peat Marwick	7	246
3. TBV Consultants	7	122
4. Price Waterhouse	6	353
5. WS Atkins	5	164

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by his Department and agencies for which it is responsible to (a) Coopers and Lybrand and its subsidiaries, (b) Peat Marwick and its subsidiaries, (c) Ernst and Young and its subsidiaries, (d) Arthur Andersen and its subsidiaries, (e) Price Waterhouse and its subsidiaries, (f) Grant Thornton and its subsidiaries, (g) Stoy Hayward and its subsidiaries, (h) Robson Rhodes and its subsidiaries, (i) Pannell Kerr Foster and its subsidiaries for privatisation, market testing, management advice, accounting, audit, consultancy and other services in 1993–94 and 1994–95. [33912]

This information has not been held centrally. On the best information currently available, the details for the Lord Chancellor's Department are as follows:

Consultants	Number of contracts	Amount £000's
Coopers and Lybrand	2	79
Peat Marwick	7	246
Ernst and Young	1	11
Arthur Andersen	nil	nil
Price Waterhouse	6	276
Grant Thornton	nil	nil
Stoy Haywood	nil	nil
Robson Rhodes	1	3
Pannell Kerr Foster	nil	nil

The Lord Chancellor is now responsible for four agencies: the Court Service, Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office. Information relating to the Court Service is included in the figures above, as it became an agency only after the period in question; and information relating to the Public Trust Office is included up to the time it acquired agency status in July 1994. In respect of the Land Registry, the Public Record Office, and the Public Trust Office from July 1994, the question concerns operational matters on which the chief executives are best placed to provide answers. I have accordingly asked them to reply direct.