Mayor answers to London

Cost of Transition Consultants

[Main question]

Question by Mike Tuffrey

MD17 states that the cost of consultants pending the appointment of employees pursuant to section 67(1) of the Greater London Act 1999 will be not above £425,000. Can you please state the relationship between the cost of these consultants and those in your transition team? Is this the same group of people? If so does this team correspond directly with the section 67 (1) appointments you plan to make in future?

Answer by Boris Johnson

I now expect the total cost of the consultants providing direct support to me not to exceed £213,000 over a six-month period. This has been revised down from the previous figure of £425,000 as InHousePR and the following individuals have now ceased providing services to the GLA on a consultancy basis: Nick Boles, James McGrath, Dan Ritterband, Laura Blake, James Horrax and Tom Greeves. The following are continuing to provide consultancy services to the GLA: Richard Blakeway, Alex Crowley, Clare Foges, Ben Gascoigne, Sophie Sharpe and Sara Cadisch. These do not correspond directly to section 67(1) appointments I may make in the future.

There is a separate team of six people who together form the GLA’s transition team: Jeff Jacobs (Director of Transition), Charlie Adan (Assistant Director of Transition), Richard Brown (Consultant), Tom Middleton (Operations Manager), Paul Rickwood (Co-ordinator) and Lorna Fernandez (PA). The team is expected to be in place for up to six months and its total cost is not expected to exceed £274,000.

Jane Saint has been appointed for a period of up to six months to be a Transition Consultant providing advice directly to Tim Parker on the review of GLA functions he is currently undertaking. The cost to the GLA of Jane Saint’s work is not expected to exceed £78,000.

Further appointments under 67(1) of the Act will be made in due course.