First elected: 12th December 2019
Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Kenny MacAskill, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
A Bill to expand the list of sporting events that must be made available for broadcast by free-to-air television channels to include all qualifying matches played by the Scotland men’s and women’s national football teams in the World Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to abolish higher standing charges for customers with pre-payment meters; to require energy companies to provide social tariffs for low income customers; and for connected purposes.
Scottish Law Officers (Devolution) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Joanna Cherry (SNP)
Scotland (Self-Determination) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Neale Hanvey (Alba)
Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Chris Stephens (SNP)
Apologies Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - John Howell (Con)
On the 5th June, this year, DWP published an official measure of the Gender Pensions Gap.
The Government has committed to annual reporting on this measure, which will help track efforts of government, industry, and employers to close the Gender Pensions Gap and ensure women can look forward to the retirements they’ve worked so hard for.
In January we published our Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan, including commitments on delivering both better outcomes and better physical conditions for women in custody. The Delivery Plan emphasises the importance of a trauma informed and responsive approach to effectively meet the needs of women in the female prison estate.
The House has spent the following amounts on external consultants in each of the last five financial years:
FY 2017/18 - £1,024,000
FY 2018/19 - £1,360,000
FY 2019/20 - £2,530,000
FY 2020/21 - £3,701,000
FY 2021/22 - £3,232,000
The Clerk has implemented a policy governing the use of consultants including requirements for justification of the use of consultants and maximum daily rates.
The total spend on consultancy per year is consistent with analysis provided in the published House of Commons Administration Annual Report and Accounts.
The information has been compiled in the table attached showing the relevant and requested data over the last five financial years.
a) Amount paid to each consultancy contracted is provided in ‘Amount paid’ columns for each year
b) Name of each consultancy contracted is provided in ‘Consultants’ column
c) Specific matters on which they were consulted is provided in ‘Consultation matters’ columns for each year.
Since 2016–17 it has been a requirement to publish the amounts paid for each financial year and these can be found on the Parliament website. The short money and Representative Money provided to each political party on an annual basis since 2015 can be found in the pdf attachment.
The Short Money and Representative Money allocations scheduled to be paid for the current financial year (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023) are as follows:
Short/Representative Money Allocations 2022/2023 | ||
Party | 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 | |
Main Allocation | Travel Budget | |
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) | £202,484.60 | £5,018.85 |
Green Party | £187,111.20 | £4,637.76 |
Labour Party | £6,812,568.25 | £146,451.25 |
Liberal Democrats | £929,590.70 | £23,040.69 |
Plaid Cymru | £110,875.00 | £2,748.13 |
Scottish National Party (SNP) | £1,149,355.15 | £28,487.72 |
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) | £110,875.00 | £2,748.13 |
Sinn Fein * | £171,032.15 | £4,239.21 |
* Representative Money |
Information on previous budget allocations for Short Money and Representative Money can also be found on the App3 tab here:
Data sheets for Library briefing on Short Money (44 KB, Excel Spreadsheet)
I have rebooted our university access regime to focus on real social mobility.
Universities are being asked to set new targets on improving attainment in schools, reducing drop out rates and increasing degree apprenticeships.
We are also launching a new National State Scholarship for high achieving young people from lower income households, helping them to fulfil their dreams at university, at a college or in an apprenticeship.
To bolster the available accommodation for some of our contractors supporting the operational delivery of COP26, we have procured two ferries which will be berthed on the outskirts of Glasgow.
There will be no delegates or accredited visitors staying on the vessels.
COP26 is targeting carbon neutral using the standard PAS206. The carbon footprint analysis for this will incorporate all emissions generated from activities that are integral to hosting the event, including those of the two cruise ships.
To bolster the available accommodation for some of our contractors supporting the operational delivery of COP26, we have procured two ferries which will be berthed on the outskirts of Glasgow.
There will be no delegates or accredited visitors staying on the vessels.
COP26 is targeting carbon neutral using the standard PAS206. The carbon footprint analysis for this will incorporate all emissions generated from activities that are integral to hosting the event, including those of the two cruise ships.
To bolster the available accommodation for some of our contractors supporting the operational delivery of COP26, we have procured two ferries which will be berthed on the outskirts of Glasgow.
There will be no delegates or accredited visitors staying on the vessels.
COP26 is targeting carbon neutral using the standard PAS206. The carbon footprint analysis for this will incorporate all emissions generated from activities that are integral to hosting the event, including those of the two cruise ships.
To bolster the available accommodation for some of our contractors supporting the operational delivery of COP26, we have procured two ferries which will be berthed on the outskirts of Glasgow.
There will be no delegates or accredited visitors staying on the vessels.
COP26 is targeting carbon neutral using the standard PAS206. The carbon footprint analysis for this will incorporate all emissions generated from activities that are integral to hosting the event, including those of the two cruise ships.
Accommodation and incidental costs for police officers and security staff directly involved in the delivery of COP26 will be drawn from the Cabinet Office COP26 budget.
The UK Government is working closely with the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council across all planning for COP26. Any additional policing or security costs that are directly attributable to COP26 will be met by the UK Government.
Accommodation and incidental costs for police officers and security staff directly involved in the delivery of COP26 will be drawn from the Cabinet Office COP26 budget.
The UK Government is working closely with the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council across all planning for COP26. Any additional policing or security costs that are directly attributable to COP26 will be met by the UK Government.
Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not usually disclosed.
It would not be possible to determine the number of cases involving the illegal importation of Russian oil referred by HM Revenue & Customs to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
For the last five years, The Attorney General’s Office has had a nil spend for external consultants*
Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.
All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.
* Whilst preparing this response the department have not considered the use of specialist counsel or short-term contractor contracts as consultancy.
The spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.
2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 |
£95,000 | £42,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used.
Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.
All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.
For the last five years, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has had a nil spend for external consultants.
The Government Legal Department (GLD) spent the following amounts on external consultants over the past five financial years. This information is available in the public domain and is as follows:
2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
£79,000 | £101,000 | £144,000 | £111,000 | £342,000 |
The breakdown of this consultancy spending by each firm contracted is as follows:
Name of consultancy firm | Amount paid to firm | Specific matters on which they were consulted |
North Highland | £80,000 | Productivity improvements in legal activity delivery |
Quo Imus Ltd | £20,000 | Work on a review of shared service communications across AGO, GLD and HMCPSI |
AMEO Professional Services Ltd | £99,000 | Improvements to GLD's recruitment and resourcing strategy and processes |
TPX Ltd | £228,000 | Improvements to GLD's recruitment and resourcing strategy and processes |
Ixia Consultancy Ltd | £40,000 | Design work on programme to enhance GLD’s Leadership capability |
Mike Curtis Reward Solutions Ltd | £137,000 | Support to the development of a new pay framework for GLD |
Incendium Consulting Ltd | £57,000 | Provision of specialist legal market analysis to development of GLD’s future accommodation strategy |
Alexander Mann Solutions Ltd | £32,000 | A review of corporate services capability and design for GLD and its shared service customers |
Rainmaker Solutions | £79,000 | Development of cloud analytical solutions |
Various | £5,000 | Short-term project and consultancy support |
In respect of the two prosecuting agencies I superintend – the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) - neither have had any cases of malicious prosecution upheld against them since 1999.
The Government defended a petition for Judicial Review in relation to the prorogation of Parliament in 2019 raised by Joanna Cherry QC MP and others in (1) the Outer House in the Court of Session, (2) the Inner House of the Court of Session, and (3) the Supreme Court where it was joined with R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent).
The Office of the Advocate General and Government Legal Department have determined that the total legal costs incurred by the Government in relation to the Cherry litigation in the Outer and Inner Houses of the Court of Session was £83,715 (net of VAT). The total legal costs incurred by the Government in the Supreme Court in relation to Cherry was £83,715 (net of VAT), and in relation to Miller was £142,590. These figures include Counsel fees, Government Legal Department litigator costs and court dues.
The Government also incurred £30,000 in adverse costs in relation to the Cherry proceedings. It is not possible to attribute these costs between proceedings in the different courts.
The Government defended a petition for Judicial Review in relation to the prorogation of Parliament in 2019 raised by Joanna Cherry QC MP and others in (1) the Outer House in the Court of Session, (2) the Inner House of the Court of Session, and (3) the Supreme Court, where it was joined with R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent).
The Office of the Advocate General and Government Legal Department have determined that the total costs of defending this litigation were £127,062.33 (net of VAT). This figure includes Counsel fees, Government Legal Department litigator costs and court dues. The Government also incurred £30,000 in adverse costs.
The Cabinet Office had no involvement in the meeting between Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and HM the King on 3 May 2024.
Information regarding any other departments, agencies and public bodies involved in arranging, coordinating, or advising this meeting is not held centrally.
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer on 12th March 2024 (UIN 17709).
The Government published a summary of its legal position on the legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024. It published a further summary on 23 January 2024 following further military action, which confirmed that the legal basis for the further military action remains the same. These are available on the gov.uk website and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
We acted fully in line with international law, in self-defence and in response to a persistent threat. The strikes were limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum care taken to protect civilian lives.
The Government published a summary of its legal position on the legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024. It published a further summary on 23 January 2024 following further military action, which confirmed that the legal basis for the further military action remains the same. These are available on the gov.uk website and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
We acted fully in line with international law, in self-defence and in response to a persistent threat. The strikes were limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum care taken to protect civilian lives.
Reserved Public Procurement in the UK, as well as devolved Welsh and transferred Northern Ireland procurement, is regulated in the UK by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 and, in some cases, specific rules relating to specialist sectors.
While the provisions in these main regulations extend to the whole of the UK, they do not cover procurement by devolved Scottish authorities in respect of devolved matters. Legislation governing devolved Scottish procurement includes the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 in combination with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
Secondments into the Civil Service from other sectors are encouraged as a means of bringing in high demand skills, enabling talented individuals from outside the Civil Service to contribute to the work of Government by sharing critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.
Although work is ongoing to increase data flow in this area, the Cabinet Office does not at present hold detailed data on the total number of people in the Civil Service on secondment from business nor the sectors and industries from which those people have been seconded.
A reply has been sent. The United Kingdom opposes human rights abuses and the death penalty in all circumstances and in all countries, and we continue to reiterate this to the Government of Bahrain. Our long-standing bilateral relationship with Bahrain allows us to assist and encourage continuing human rights reforms.
Operation Pelican was the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) response to the continued presence of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and the maintenance of a police presence in the vicinity. Officials in the Cabinet Office, along with other relevant departments, liaised on that response, the operational details of which are a matter for the MPS.
I have not met with US officials to discuss Julian Assange.
The Government has discussed aspects of this matter as part of our routine diplomatic engagement with a number of countries, including the US. Cabinet Office officials routinely meet with US counterparts to discuss a range of issues, which may, in the past, have included Mr Assange. The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of meetings between officials and their US counterparts.
Extradition cases are handled by the Home Office.
This information is not held centrally. GEM is responsible for providing solutions to specialist estates management issues across government.
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
Spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the CCS in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.
2020/21 | 2019/21 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 |
£1,281,622 | £2,199,349 | £2,220,563 | £3,191,422 | £6,679,277 |
Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.
All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.
Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.
Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 20th July is attached and below.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
Kenny MacAskill MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
12 August 2022
Dear Mr MacAskill,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how much the UK Statistics Authority has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if we will publish a breakdown of the (a) amountpaid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted (40939).
Table 1 provides the spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the UK Statistics Authority in each of the last five years.
Table 1: Spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the UK Statistics Authority in each of the last five years
2021/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 |
£6,065,000 | £11,207,000 | £12,028,000 | £6,259,000 | £924,000 |
Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder[1]. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK[2].
All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Footnotes: