Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Civil Service: External Consultants

Thursday 22 June 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Tan Dhesi questioned the reasons for using external consultants in the civil service.
  • The Minister emphasized the role of specialist expertise in providing good value for money.
  • Tan Dhesi argued that the Government relies on expensive external contracts, with consulting contracts increasing by 75% from 2019 to 2022.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tan Dhesi Lab Slough
Context

No specific event prompted this question, but it relates to the broader issue of civil service reliance on external consultancy.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the reasons for which external consultants are used by the civil service?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

My focus is on ensuring that the civil service has enhanced skills to provide all forms of advice where appropriate. However, there is also a role, as there is in other Governments around the world and in the private sector, for specialist expertise. Where that represents good value for money in delivering for the taxpayer, we will use it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific reasons and criteria for using external consultants were not provided.

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Q2 Tan Dhesi Lab Slough
Economy Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The UK public sector awarded £2.8 billion-worth of consulting contracts in 2022, up 75% from 19. Poor government leadership led to a huge waste of taxpayers' money.

Question

Instead of increasing the resilience of our civil service, this Conservative Government rely increasingly on expensive external contracts to fill gaps. The UK public sector awarded £2.8 billion-worth of consulting contracts in 2022—up 75% from 2019—while poor Government leadership led to a huge waste of taxpayers' money. Staggeringly, the Government have brought to an end limits on Whitehall spending on external contracts. Will the Minister explain how, when millions, including my constituents, are struggling to pay their bills, the purse strings can simply be untied when it comes to hiring outside consultants?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

It is absolutely not the case that there are no limits on consultancy fees. Every Department is responsible for its own finances and is under pressure to deliver effectively for the taxpayer. Any decision to issue contracts is closely scrutinised in the contracting Department. The largest contracts come to the Cabinet Office as well, but the key issue is to ensure that Departments spend their money wisely. There is a role for specialist expertise. There are occasions—I had experience of this in the Ministry of Defence—when consultants are the best value for money in providing a service to the taxpayer.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific reasons and criteria for ending limits on consultancy fees were not provided.

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