To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of employing consultants charged with the task of identifying suitable private sector partners for Royal Mail is; and if he will make a statement. (276902)

The work on the partnership deal is on-going. It would not be appropriate to give an estimate of the cost of consultants’ fees at this stage, as this remains subject to a range of variable factors. These include the length of the process and the number of interested parties.

Government will of course make the expenditure on consultants available once the deal has been completed and the overall costs are known.