To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid by the Cabinet Office and its agencies to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Deloitte, (d) Ernst and Young, (e) Grant Thornton, (f) BDO Stoy Hayward, (g) Baker Tilly, (h) Smith and Williamson, (i) Tenon Group, (j) PKF, (k) McKinsey and Company, and (I) Accenture, in each of the past five years for which information is available; how they monitor contracts with those firms; and how the department reports (1) during, and (2) at the end of contracts, to Buying Solutions. [HL2080]

The amount that the Cabinet Office paid to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Deloitte, (d) Ernst & Young, (e) Grant Thornton, (f) BDO Stoy Hayward, (g) Baker Tilly, (h) Smith and Williamson, (i) Tenon Group, (j) PKF, (k) McKinsey and Company, and (I) Accenture in the financial years 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 is detailed in the table below:

The Cabinet Office's financial systems do not provide accurate and comprehensive data on expenditure by supplier prior to 2005-06. All the costs in the above table are inclusive of VAT, except where VAT is reclaimable.

All Cabinet Office contracts are managed by the relevant management unit within the department which commissioned the services. The contract managers within the appropriate management unit are responsible for ensuring that suppliers meet the terms and conditions of the contract and provide good value for money.

Buying Solutions’ frameworks are self-managed. Therefore when the Cabinet Office uses Buying Solutions’ frameworks, there is no obligation to report on a firm’s performance to Buying Solutions either during or at the end of the contract.