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Written question asked by Rob Wilson (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 27 February 2006. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Thursday, 2 March 2006 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Iraq

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to his Department was of (a) preparing and (b) deploying contracted (i) civil service and (ii) non-civil service (A) UK and (B) non-UK civilian personnel to Iraq between April 2003 and December 2005; and what the salary costs of these staff were in this period.
Answer

Between April 2003 and December 2005, DFID spent £210,000 preparing DFID civil servants and consultants for deployment to Iraq. This covers pre-deployment hostile environment training, plus necessary equipment such as satellite phones, body armour, flak jackets and helmets. Our records do not disaggregate this figure between our own staff and project consultants or between UK and non UK personnel.DFID civil servants working on the Iraq programme in this period have cost £4.4 million. This includes salaries, overseas allowances, transfer costs and travel. Of this amount, £3 million was disbursed on salaries. Again, our records do not disaggregate these costs between those staff working in London and those working in Iraq, or between UK and non UK personnel.Most non-civil service personnel deployed to Iraq are engaged not individually, but through bigger contracts to implement projects. The total cost to DFID of all consultancy contracts in Iraq during this period was £31.4 million. Our records do not disaggregate this figure between fees, reimbursables and programme costs, or between preparation and deployment costs. Consultants receive fees rather than salaries, so it may be helpful to know that the average fees paid for a consultant working for DFID in Iraq are between £700 to £1,250 a day.In addition to the above costs, DFID also meets essential life support costs for all DFID staff and consultants who work in or visit Iraq. This includes security, transport, medical services, food and accommodation; we expect to disburse £55 million on this life-support between April 2003 and the end of the current financial year, ending 31 March 2006. This support is necessary and integral to the effective delivery of the humanitarian and reconstruction programmes that we run.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
54296; 443 c880W;443 c880W
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Costs Civil servants Consultants Iraq Pay Training Reconstruction
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk