A WA parliamentary question seeks clarification on the consistency of consultant reporting practices between the current and previous governments, specifically regarding the inclusion/exclusion criteria for consultant contracts. The response indicates no change in policy or its application.

AnsweredQoN 1300Legislative Council
Asked
19 September 2003
Portfolio
Leader of the House representing the Premier

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to questions on notice asked of all ministers by the member for Churchlands - of which question on notice 1681 of 2002 is an example - in which the ministers answered that the lists of consultants provided in the answers were to be submitted to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet for consideration as possible consultants. The answers further stated that not all consultants would appear in the report of the consultants engaged by government, tabled in Parliament, as the department may not consider that they meet the definition of consultant in accordance with the Premier’s circular 45/94. (1) Has there been any change in the policy or the practical application of the policy relating to what is included in or excluded from the list of consultants? (2) Have any contracts that would have been included in the former Government’s list been excluded from the current Government’s list? (3) If so, what is the value of such contracts for each six-month period since the Gallop Government took office? (4) What is the value of contracts reported by agencies but excluded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in each report tabled so far by the Gallop Government? Hon KIM CHANCE

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(1) Has there been any change in the policy or the practical application of the policy relating to what is included in or excluded from the list of consultants? (2) Have any contracts that would have been included in the former Government’s list been excluded from the current Government’s list? (3) If so, what is the value of such contracts for each six-month period since the Gallop Government took office? (4) What is the value of contracts reported by agencies but excluded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in each report tabled so far by the Gallop Government? Hon KIM CHANCE replied : I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(2) Have any contracts that would have been included in the former Government’s list been excluded from the current Government’s list? (3) If so, what is the value of such contracts for each six-month period since the Gallop Government took office? (4) What is the value of contracts reported by agencies but excluded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in each report tabled so far by the Gallop Government? Hon KIM CHANCE replied : I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(3) If so, what is the value of such contracts for each six-month period since the Gallop Government took office? (4) What is the value of contracts reported by agencies but excluded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in each report tabled so far by the Gallop Government? Hon KIM CHANCE replied : I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(4) What is the value of contracts reported by agencies but excluded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in each report tabled so far by the Gallop Government? Hon KIM CHANCE replied : I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied : I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The answer is lengthy, but I will go through it because it is a complex issue. (1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(1) No. Reports on consultants continue to be prepared in accordance with the Premier’s circular issued in 1994. The assessment of agency returns is being undertaken by the same departmental officers and on the same basis as under the previous Government. (2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(2) No. (3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(3) Not applicable. (4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.
(4) There has been no calculation of contracts excluded from the consultants reports tabled by this Government, just as there was no calculation undertaken by the previous Government, as the figures would serve little purpose. Some agencies frequently include on their return contracts that do not meet the definition of “consultant” for the purposes of the Premier’s circular 45/94. A consultant is considered to be any person engaged on a fee-for-service basis to provide strategic advice for the Government to act on. It does not include contractors engaged to provide a service that does not involve the provision of management advice to the Government, nor does it include functional advice for agencies to act on, such as reviews of departmental computing needs, management audits or tender assessments. Accordingly, excluded from the report are contracts for engineering services, training programs, printing, computer development and support services, actuarial services, publicity and promotional programs, project management services, valuations, accounting services, customer surveys and benchmarking. These contracts were similarly excluded from the reports of the previous Government.

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