Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

The Ministry of Justice can provide spend for the provision of services with the top ten consultancy firms for 11 months of the last financial year (13/14) as March 2014 spend is not yet available. All spend is exclusive of VAT. The below table shows the top ten suppliers for consultancy for 2013/2014 and spend.

Consultants can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not available inhouse. Consultancy spend is governed by strict Cabinet Office controls and any spend over £20k requires approval by the departmental board on behalf of the Secretaryof State.Consultancy contracts in excess of nine months require further approval by the Cabinet Office.