To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if he will make a statement. [92226]
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place to the noble Baroness Wilcox by Lord Macdonald on 27 November 2002, Official Report; column WA42.Expenditure by the Cabinet Office on external consultants is estimated to be £9,493,000 for 2002–03. The figures for the Central Office of Information (COI), the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) and the only non-departmental public body sponsored by the Cabinet Office with such spend are as follows:
| COI | GCDA | Committee on standards in public life | |
| 1997–98 | 66,395 | n/a | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 30,972 | n/a | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 17,468 | 33,997 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 48,980 | 21,715 | 0 |
COI
| GCDA
| Committee on standards in public life
| |
| 2001–02 | 52,170 | 53,385 | 35,056 |
| 2002–031 | 18,886 | 58,000 | 7,400 |
1Estimated | |||
The figures for earlier years, and those for GCDA for 1997–98 and 1998–99, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.