The Cabinet Office has established its own consultancy service and greatly lowering the value at which approval for external consultancy must be sought, to reduce spending on external consultants
It is also cutting the threshold at which departments must seek central approval for consultancy and professional service spending from £10 million to £500,000.
The Government Consulting Hub, which has been running as a pilot project for the last three months, will have offices in Birmingham, Glasgow and London. It is part of the Cabinet Office and work across all departments, with the aim of cutting more than £700 million spent by central government on external consultants in 2019/20 as well as improving the skills of civil servants.
“The Government Consulting Hub will improve the skills of our civil servants, make sure that where consultants are still needed, we get the best value for money and guarantee that government departments work together to get the best results,” said Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnew. “This is not just about saving money; it’s a real opportunity to guarantee that taxpayers get value for money.”
The hub will deliver six main elements: a consultancy playbook with advice on getting value for money from external consultants; a knowledge platform; capability and training; a senior strategic advisory service; strategy consulting; and a triage service.
The Queen’s Speech mentioned that the government is planning to replace the current procurement regime, largely based on the European Union rules that applied until 31 December 2020, with a new system the Cabinet Office said would be “quicker, simpler and better able to meet the country’s needs".
