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9 Apr 2003 : Column 264W—continued

Commercial Confidentiality

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance her Department issues to civil servants on how to deal with claims from organisations that the information they provide to the Department is commercially confidential. [105560]

Ms Hewitt: It is not standard practice to verify claims of commercial confidentiality on receiving information from organisations as this issue is normally only relevant if the question arises as to whether the information should be disclosed to another party.

The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and the guidance on the operation of the Code helps officials determine whether such information should be disclosed or withheld in response to an individual request. Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice specifically exempts a third party's commercial confidences. The Code and accompanying guidance is available to staff on the DTI intranet.

While it is ultimately for my Department to determine, in accordance with the Code, whether to disclose information in response to requests we receive, third parties whose interests may be adversely affected are normally consulted in order to inform the Department's decision.

Similar considerations apply if the information requested is environmental information which is subject to the Environmental Information Regulations as distinct from the Code of Practice.

Departmental Fees

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the fees paid by her Department to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst & Young since January 2002. [100832]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Central records indicate that the following fees have been paid in the period since January 2002:

	£
PricewaterhouseCoopers	8,407,225
Deloitte & Touche	6,415,336
KPMG	64,625
Ernst & Young	1,357,586

Document Classification

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many documents are held by her Department that are subject to security classification, broken down by category of classification. [107347]

Ms Hewitt: It is not possible to provide the requested statistics without incurring disproportionate cost.

9 Apr 2003 : Column 265W

External Consultants

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much (a) her Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if she will make a statement. [92260]

Ms Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Noble Friend, Lord Sainsbury on 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 26. Central records indicate that for the current financial year, 2002–03, £35 million is at present committed for consultancy.

I have asked the Department's Executive Agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member. Information by NDPBs is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on external consultancy expenditure on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.

The expenditure incurred on external consultancy was as follows:

Financial Year	£000
2002–03(11)	2,454
2001–02	504
2000–01	564
1999–2000	1,111

⁽¹¹⁾ Planned

I am sorry but the data for years 1995–96 to 1998–99 is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Letter from Roger Heathcote to David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

You tabled a Parliamentary Question on 17 January 2003 to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking how much (a) her Department and (b) each agency and non departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if she will make a statement. I have been asked to reply in respect of the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) which is an executive agency of the DTI.

Central records indicate that contracts for consultancy for the Employment Tribunals Service were/will be as follows:

Financial year	£000
1999–2000	186
2000–01	106
2001–02	130
2002–03(12)	64

⁽¹²⁾ Estimated

This central data is only available from 1999. Data for the three previous years are not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
"Consultants" is a rather imprecise term. Figures given are the totals of those entered into the Agency's accounts system under its specific consultancy categories: Estates, ICT and Human Resources.

9 Apr 2003 : Column 266W

Letter from Caren Fullerton to Mr. David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question 921 tabled on 17 January 2003, about how much (a) the Secretary of State's department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned).

The figures given below indicate Patent Office spending on external consultancy from 1995–96 to 2002–03:

Year	£000
1995–96	138
1996–97	124
1997–98	39
1998–99	8
1999–2000	16
2000–01	26
2001–02	53
2002–03	70

Letter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

The Secretary for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question on how much her Department and each agency and non departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned).

National Weights and Measures Laboratory spent the following on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–2003 (planned):

Financial Year	Amount (£)
1995–96	9,000
1996–97	2,000
1997–98	11,000
1998–99	50,000
1999–2000	63,000
2000–01	68,000
2001–02	31,000
2002–03(13)	98,000

⁽¹³⁾ Planned

Letter from Desmond Flynn to Right Hon. David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to your question (2002–921) requesting information on money spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned) by the Department, its agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs).

The Insolvency Service spent the following amounts on external consultants and advisors since 1995–96:

Year	£000
1995–96	502
1996–97	12
1997–98	Nil
1998–99	5
1999–2000	Nil
2000–01	Nil
2001–02	125
2002–03(14)	Nil

⁽¹⁴⁾ Planned

The above costs relate to consultancy assistance in developing Agency policy.

9 Apr 2003 : Column 267W

Letter from Martin Wyn Griffith to David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

Your Parliamentary Question to Mrs Hewitt asked how much her Department, Agencies and NDPBs spent on external consultancy, in each year from 1995/96 to 2002/3 (planned). I am replying on behalf of the Small Business Service (SBS).

The SBS was launched as an Agency on 1 April 2000. Therefore, information on expenditure has only been available since that date.

The value of contracts for external consultancy for the period from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2002 is approximately as follows:

F/Y 2000/2001—£0.8 million

F/Y 2001/2002—£3.0 million

Information on the value of consultancy contracts for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 December 2002 and planned contract for 1 January to 31 March 2003, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Letter from Ms R. J. R. Anderson to David Laws dated 9 April 2003:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency to your Parliamentary Question about expenditure on external consultants.

Agency expenditure (ex-VAT) in each of the last eight financial years is as follows:

Financial Year	£
1995–96	256,000
1996–97	761,768
1997–98	2,478,987
1998–99	2,602,017
1999–2000	1,963,878
2000–01	1,947,799
2001–02	654,000
2002–03	88,713

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