Vol. 534 No. 3
74 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reasons for the 519% increase in the costs of consultancy services to his Department in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2001. [10485/01]
From time to time consultants are commissioned by my Department to carry out specific assignments in relation to policy issues, or to aspects of the administration of the Department's schemes and services. The cost of external consultancies during 2000 amounted to £1,849 million. Estimated expenditure on consultancies for 2001 is £11,451 million, accounting for the 519% increase over actual spend for 2000 referred to by the Deputy. This increase is, in the main, attributed to one major project being undertaken this year. A new service delivery model which will modernise and personalise the way customers interact with my Department by providing a flexible, personalised and case-driven approach to customer service is being developed. This project will also enable my Department to deliver on commitments under the Government action plan for the information society. Consult ants have been engaged to assist in identifying the appropriate changes to both the organisational and information technology structures to facilitate new service delivery mechanisms. The consultancy element of this project is estimated at £8 million in 2001.
The balance of the estimated spend on consultancy this year relates to a number of other projects including projects arising from the Department's preparation for the introduction of the euro, the White Paper on voluntary activities, projects to improve the Department's central records system, implementation of a new computing environment and projects arising in the area of family policy.
