Monday 15th
December, 3.30pm, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a scrutiny session
on government's use of external consultants at 3.30pm on
Monday 15th December 2025.
The current government's intention is to halve spending on
consultants, with a commitment to producing a strategic workforce
plan for the civil service in 2025 that can properly balance the
use of civil servants and external resources. As of 2022-23,
central government' consultant spend was estimated to be approx.
£1.36bn, but this figure could be significantly higher. The
National Audit Office has found that government does not have a
clear picture of how much is being spent on consultants, or how
this spending has changed over time.
The PAC's session will examine central oversight of government's
use of consultants. Other likely topics include how progress is
being tracked towards the target of halving spend; how
departments are being supported to achieve best practice in
consultants' use; and how government's workforce plan may affect
usage of consultants, professional services, and temporary staff.
Witnesses from 3.30pm:
- Cat Little CB, Permanent Secretary
at Cabinet Office
- Andrew Forzani, Government Chief
Commercial Officer at Cabinet Office
-
, Deputy Director,
Workforce, Pay and Pensions at HM Treasury
- Mark Leigh, Commercial Director at
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
