I take it the intended scope of the question is the same as the Deputy's question of 28 June of this year which related to reports, consultancies or other advisory or public relations commissions awarded by my Department. The reply to that question, together with the reply to a similar question on 17 February 2004, lists all such commissions awarded by my Department from 1 January 1998 to 28 June 2005. There have been no further awards since 28 June.
My Department issues comprehensive guidelines concerning the engagement of consultants. The most recent were issued in 1999 and are entitled, Engaging Consultants: Guidelines for the Civil Service. The guidelines cover a range of topics relevant to the decision to commission external support or assistance. They stress that value-for-money considerations must be paramount when deciding whether to engage consultants, that projects should be strictly necessary and that consultants should only be engaged where specialised knowledge is not available internally, or in the wider Civil Service, or where independent advice is deemed essential, and that as far as possible skills are transferred to the civil servants involved. My Department complies with these guidelines and I am assured that my Department achieved value for money in its commissions from 1998 to date, the period covered by the Deputy's question.