Background
Government departments use external consultants as a source of skills and expertise. Consultants play a significant role in many government programmes, including digital programmes, major projects and change initiatives. The Crown Commercial Service and Government Commercial Function play a key role in setting procurement frameworks and issuing guidance to departments on their use of consultants.
Our last comprehensive report on this topic was 2016’s Use of consultants and temporary staff. Since then, several governments have sought to reform use of consultants by a variety of means, including changing spending controls, developing a consultancy hub, creating a Crown Consultancy and promising to halve consultancy spend.
Scope
This study will lay out the current facts on use of consultants in government. We will also draw upon our back catalogue of reports, and new research, to identify lessons for bodies considering the use of consultants.
This report will set out:
- facts about what the government spends on, and how it uses, external consultants
- lessons about how to maximise the value of external consultants
- good practice for procuring consultants and managing them once they are contracted
NAO team
Director: Sian Jones
Audit Manager: Maria-Christina Eskioglou and Brian Kennedy