To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many consultants were employed in each of the years 1993, 1994 and 1995 in the information technology section at the Patent Office; and what were the costs of employing them in each year. [6688]

The Patent Office made no use of external consultants in the years 1993 and 1994 in the information technology section. In 1995 it employed Coopers and Lybrand at a total cost of £35,900 plus expenses. The Patent Office has also used a number of external IT experts for specialist work as particular needs arose.