To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

My Department has made significant reductions to spending on consultancy, as the table below illustrates:

The bulk of the 2010-11 spending was contractually committed under the last Administration, including consultancy on the last Administration’s failed FireControl programme.

In answering the question on temporary staff and contingent labour, we have used the Cabinet Office definition for contingent labour (temporary staff) which includes administration and clerical agency staff, interim managers and specialist contractors. The use of such staff for short-term or specialist work can be better value for money than hiring staff on a permanent contract.

My Department has spent the following on contingent labour:

My Department has cut spending significantly on contingent labour as a result of the tightening of its internal management controls, institutionalising these in its systems and adhering to Treasury and Cabinet Office spending rules. The saving in 2013-14 compared to 2009-10 is £11.1 million – a reduction of 77%.

Details of the number of consultancy and temporary staff that have been employed, the length of contracts of each and their equivalent civil service salary can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

I would also observe that my Department has reduced total staffing costs from £218 million a year in 2009-10 to £95 million in 2013-14.