To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the outside (a) agencies and (b) consultancies which are undertaking work commissioned by his Department; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost is of each commission. (138452)

To identify current outside consultancies which are commissioned by the Department and live contracts with employment agencies, together with their purpose and cost for each, would incur disproportionate cost. Current management systems do not allow effective cross referencing across all parts of the Home Office and its Agencies as this is not a standard business requirement.

Consultancies provide advice and guidance in a broad range of areas from business change to technical analysis. Typically agency staff are used to fill time bound requirements for additional or specially skilled resources in areas such as project and programme work, seasonal work (such as passport issue) and to provide cover for staff absent on leave and sickness.