Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any (a) external contractors and (b) consultancy companies engaged by his Department have charged more than the initial price agreed for their services since May 2010.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office monitors all contracts to ensure best value. Where appropriate contracts will be awarded to provide Open Book Costing or an objective cost adjustment mechanism to meet service needs or account for external forces e.g. inflation.

Contracts are awarded across the global network of overseas missions in over 170 countries, so the majority of contract management is undertaken locally by Officers with delegated authority. It is not possible to answer this question without incurring disproportionate cost.