Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, 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 Department does hold the information requested. Information for all contracts is however not held centrally and to provide a complete answer would require a review of each individual contract and invoice payment, and would result in disproportionate cost. Departmental expenditure with all suppliers is subject to rigorous procurement controls from initial formation of the contract to invoicing for services once they have been delivered.