To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to the public purse was of expenditure by Government departments on consultancies in the last year for which figures are available; and what the estimated level of such expenditure is in each of the next three years. (324211)

The most recent year for which public expenditure on consultancy is available 2008-09. These data were published by the Office of Government Commerce alongside Budget 2010 in the “Public Sector Procurement Expenditure Survey 2009”

http://www.ogc.gov.uk/publicspending

The expenditure set out here will be reduced by 50 per cent. a year by 2012-13, as set in the pre-Budget report 2009.