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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list external (a) public relations/communications companies, (b) advertising and marketing companies, (c) management consultancies, (d) accountancy companies, (e) banking firms, (f) individual consultants and (g) other specialist consultancies used by his Department since June 2001; what actions those consultancies/companies have performed within his Department; and what costs have been incurred through use of these consultancies/companies. [74686] Mr. MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for North Tayside (Mr. Wishart) on 11 June 2002, Official Report, column 1177W, and to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 24 January 2002, Official Report, column 999W. In the financial years 2001-2002 and 2002 to date, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has paid a total of £883,027 to two public relations firms for the ``Know Before You Go'' public awareness campaign. This sum includes design and implementation of the campaign together with management fees. The two firms are: AEA Technology Environment and Biss Lancaster Euro RSCG. We have also spent a total of £14,687 on consultancy advice and focus groups related to UK public attitudes towards the European Union. The firms involved were LA Associates/Peter Kellner and ICM Research. Providing information on external consultancies other than public relations/communications firms would incur disproportionate costs.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

390 c891W;390 c911-2W; 74686

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Accountancy Companies Costs Banks Consultants Expenditure Government departments Publicity Marketing Foreign and Commonwealth Office Public relations Management consultants

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk