To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission paid recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (117485)

The Electoral Commission came into existence on 30 November 2000. It informs me that the total amount paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each financial year from 2002-03 is as shown in the table. These amounts include the remuneration paid to the temporary staff and the agency fees.

The equivalent figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are not readily available. In 2000-01, the commission’s total expenditure on recruitment, agency staff, and training was £84,270. In 2001-02, payments to recruitment agencies were not recorded separatelyfrom payments to other organisations in respect of secondees, and total expenditure under this combined heading was £190,000.