Cabinet Office: Payments
House of Lords

Lord Laird (UUP)

To ask Her Majesty's Government what payments were made from the Cabinet Office to (1) Clifford Chance, (2) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, (3) Slaughter and May, (4) Allen & Overy, and (5) Linklaters in financial years (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11, and (d) 2011-12 to date; and to what those payments related.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Whip, House of Lords; Liberal Democrat)

The Cabinet Office made no payments to Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Allen and Overy or Linklaters in financial years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 or 2011-12 to date. The Cabinet Office made payments of £50,229 to Slaughter and May in financial year 2011-12. No payments were made to Slaughter and May in financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 or 2010-11.

The payments to Slaughter and May were in respect of specialist property support for the consolidation of the London and Bristol regions. These payments were made by the Government Property Unit (GPU). GPU became part of the Cabinet Office on 18 July 2011 following a machinery of government change, and these payments reflect payments made throughout 2011-12 to date. This Government are committed to transparency, and all new contracts over the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/). All payments over £25,000 are also published on a monthly basis on data.gov.uk.