‘Scandalous’ £3.4bn UK state spending on private consultants last year

New figures reveal that public bodies paid out at least 60% more to consultancies in 2023-24 than it did pre-pandemic

Private consultants were paid a scandalous" 3.4bn by public bodies last year, new figures reveal.

The statistics, from outsourcing data company Tussell, show that government spending on private consultants was 1.3bn (62%) higher in 2023-24 than 2019-20. They also reveal that the surge in consultant spending seen during Covid has failed to come back down to pre-pandemic levels.