To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 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, and (i) Pannell Kerr Forster and its subsidiaries, for privatisation, market testing, management advice, accounting, audit, consultancy and other services in 1993–94 and 1994–95. [33921]
Centralised records are not kept of individual contracts between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and consultants. It is not, therefore, possible to provide the information requested in the required form. However, the total amounts paid to the consultants named in the question in the relevant years were as follows:
| Year | Consultant | Spend |
| 1993–94 | Cooper and Lybrand | 175,000 |
| Peat Marwick | 372,718 | |
| Ernst and Young | 212,258 | |
| Arthur Andersen | nil | |
| Price Waterhouse | 190,531 | |
| Grant Thornton | nil | |
| Stoy Hayward | 22,326 | |
| Robson Rhodes | nil | |
| Pannell Kerr Forster | nil | |
| 1994–95 | Cooper and Lybrand | 5,571 |
| Peat Marwick | 319,357 | |
| Ernst and Young | 123,140 | |
| Arthur Andersen | nil | |
| Price Waterhouse | 72,507 | |
| Grant Thornton | nil | |
| Stoy Hayward | 16,450 | |
| Robson Rhodes | nil | |
| Pannell Kerr Forster | nil |