To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for (a) temporary and (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997. (151672)

As explained in the answer given by the then Financial Secretary the hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) on 28 June 2007, Official Report, column 873W, the fees paid to recruitment agencies for the Chancellor's Department could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on spending on recruitment consultancy is not held in a format whereby it can be separated out from other external management consultancy, or from the cost of agency staff.