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Public Appointments (Women)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Government departments are expected to reach the target of equal representation for women in public appointments by 2005. [46501]

Mr. Leslie: Public Bodies: Opening up Public Appointments 2002–05, was published on 14 February. This publication provides the latest targets set by individual departments for increasing diversity on the boards of non-departmental public bodies and other public bodies, and describes the action that departments will take to achieve them. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Consultants

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost to his Department was of the use of external consultants in each of the last four years. [35018]

Mr Leslie: The total cost to the Cabinet Office and the Central Office of Information for the use of consultants in each of the last four complete financial years is as follows:





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The period 1997–98 included #501,049 on e-government IT consultants commissioned by the Central IT Unit (CITU). Expenditure on this topic was #3,138,437 in 1998–99, #5,046,618 in 1999–2000 and #3,543,147 in 2000–01. Expenditure in 1998–99 and 1999–2000 increased to include Y2K work and in 2000–01 a decrease in expenditure in those areas was offset by work on UK Online following an expansion of e-Government work in the 2000 Spending Review. Other Cabinet Office consultancy spend is on research and IT developments.

Mrs. May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost was of management consultants across all Government departments in the last available year. [43630]

Mr. Leslie: Information for all Government Departments is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Individual departments are responsible for their own consultancy arrangements.

For the information relating to my Department, I refer the hon. Member to the answer have given today to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow).

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total external spending by his Department was on public private partnership consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PPP consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [43193]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 6 February 2002, Official Report, column 944W.

Permanent Secretaries

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) number and (b) percentage of permanent secretaries attended (i) Oxford and Cambridge, (ii) independent schools and (iii) both; if he will provide these figures for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [43858]

Mr. Leslie: For current holders of Permanent Secretary posts in the Home Civil Service, the figures are:




Historic data on the educational backgrounds of Permanent Secretary postholders are not held centrally and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

Press Office

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department's press office have

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(a) termination and (b) redundancy payments in each of the last four years. [41075]

The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: None.

Advertising

Hywel Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government have spent on advertising in each year since 1993 in (a) English, (b) Welsh and (c) Welsh and English. [39518]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 939W.

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Figures for the financial year 1992–93 to 1994–95 are not held centrally, and could only be provide at disproportionate cost.

The only advertising undertaken by the COI is for recruitment. All recruitment advertising is in English.

Consultancy Services

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of work commissioned by Government Departments has been undertaken by (a) Arthur Andersen, (b) Ernst & Young, (c) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 1978. [32808]

Mr. Leslie: Pursuant to my reply of 14 February, columns 562–64, I regret that the information provided was incorrect. The table should have read:

Per cent.

1997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–02 to date2
Arthur Andersen0000.5122.09
Ernst & Young1.5510.452.050.0420
PricewaterhouseCoopers110.352.192.165.1524.40

Notes:

1 1997–98 figure for Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand.

2 2001–02 figures for year to end January and subject to audit.

Car and Despatch Agency

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many vehicles in the Government's Car and Despatch Agency are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquefied petroleum gas, (d) compressed natural gas and (e) other alternative fuels. [45945]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

Responsibility for the Government Car Service and the InterDespatch Service has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car Despatch Agency. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. Nick Matheson, to write to the hon. Gentleman.

I have placed copies of the letter in the Library of the House.

Confidential Information

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to co-ordinate a system across Departments by which members of the public can give confidential information. [38198]

Mr. Leslie: The Cabinet Office co-ordinates no such system across Departments.

External Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies in each of the past five years; [38762]

Mr. Leslie: The specific information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However for information on the top 10 largest suppliers to the Cabinet Office for the years since 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave earlier today (PQ 38764).

Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date, indicating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed. [38764]

Mr. Leslie: Listed below are the 10 largest suppliers to the Cabinet Office for each financial year since 1997–98.


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Further information of the sort requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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