Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

There has been no expenditure on external consultancy by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in the last five years.