Debt Management Consultants

Mr. Philip Hammond
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on debt management consultants in each quarter since the first quarter of 2006; and how much it spent on staff training relating to debt management in the same period.

Mr. Plaskitt
The following table provides details of the costs of consultants working for debt management, and identifiable costs of training debt management staff.

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|Period 2006        |Consultants|Staff training|
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|January to March   |1,076,300  |57,600        |
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|April to June      |142,600    |83,400        |
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|July to September  |237,400    |57,600        |
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|October to December|288,400    |77,400        |
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