To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

Cabinet Office will on most occasions procure recruitment consultancy services through Crown Commercial Service (“CCS”) Framework Agreements. Procuring through CCS Framework Agreements delivers consistency and efficiency savings through providing a range of benefits, such as:

• Access to pre-assessed capable and proven suppliers;

• Reducing the need for repeat campaigns;

• Capped maximum costs protecting from market price increases;

• Notable saving against market rates on average;

• No hidden costs of service; and

• Vendors may agree to further discounts for large campaigns.

Venders are also aware of, and must support, government diversity and inclusion requirements when providing their services.

The relevant CCS Framework relating to recruitment consultancy services was established in November 2018 and its first year was a transitional year. Spend incurred by Cabinet Office in the first two full years post-transition are £216,868 for financial year 2020-21 and £206,048 for financial year 2021-22.

The Cabinet Office continues to encourage the use of the CCS Framework across the Department as standard.