Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of government procurement card spending by his Department in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The table below sets out total expenditure using government procurement cards for the given financial years. Information relating to 2010 to 2016 is not readily available.
Financial Year | Amount |
2016-17 | £147,167 |
2017-18 | £474,619 |
2018-19 | £1,324,366 |
2019-20 | £1,311,324 |
2020-21 | £698,353 |
2021-22 | £584,345 |
2022-23 | £660,352 |
2023-24 | £646,102 |
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the use of private consultants by his Department in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department publishes expenditure on consultants in the annual report and accounts. The most recently published period is 2022-23 when the core department spent £23.7 million (page 108).
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of projects that have been written off within his Department in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Prior to preparing to leave the EU Defra had no major projects, with outcome delivery led through its Arm’s Length bodies and executive agencies. Defra now manages a portfolio of priority projects spanning policy to delivery which are critical to delivering our outcomes to ‘improve the environment, deliver net zero, reduce the likelihood and impact of flooding, increase the sustainability, productivity and resilience of the agriculture, fishing, food and drink sectors, enhance biosecurity at the border and raise animal welfare standards’. All losses are reported in our Annual Reports and Accounts but we are unable to provide a breakdown of losses specifically relating to ‘writing off projects’ since our reporting data for losses is not disaggregated in this manner.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the overspend on procurement within his Department in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse has been of contracts cancelled by his Department since 2010.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.