To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office

(1) how much his Office spent on (a) head hunters and recruitment consultants and (b) management consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available;

(2) how much has been spent by his Office on (a) advertising and (b) public relations consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available.

holding answer 19 July 2004

Financial information prior to the 1997–98 financial year was produced on a previous accounting system and cannot be readily be retrieved without incurring disproportionate cost.

The Cabinet Office spent £282,000 on advertising and £15.244 million on external consultancy in 2003–04. This figure may change due to accounting adjustments and is subject to final audit. External consultancy incorporates consultancy in several areas including financial, information technology and communications.

Expenditure on headhunters, recruitment consultants, management consultants and public relations consultants is contained within the external consultancy figure and cannot be separately identified without incurring disproportionate cost.