Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in the last five years.

Consultancy expenditure is published in the department’s annual report and accounts, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.

Although the audit is still ongoing, figures for the 2021/22 financial year are included. As a result, this value may be subject to change.

The figures below cover the entirety of the departmental group, including executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, for the years specified:

• 2021/22: £6.8 million (unaudited)
• 2020/21: £8.7 million
• 2019/20: £12.7 million
• 2018/19: £13.1 million
• 2017/18: £14.6 million.