6 Accepted

We questioned whether government has a breakdown of the amount spent on consultancy services in...

Recommendation
We questioned whether government has a breakdown of the amount spent on consultancy services in government with individual consultancy firms, separating audit fees from consultancy work. The Chief Commercial Officer explained they have the total annual spend, broken down by department.14 This is not currently broken down by type of service, but the Cabinet Office stated that they could provide these figures as departments are likely to hold this information. The Department questioned the relevance of the request, noting that most audit services are not provided by external firms, and said that the best way to provide full transparency is to look across all categories of expenditure and show that each is reducing.15
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to provide a breakdown of consultancy spending, commissioning departments to report data on their top ten suppliers across consultancy, contingent labour, and professional services, including all spending with those suppliers in other categories, with a target implementation by Summer 2026.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2026 1.2 The Cabinet Office has commissioned departments for spending data on their top ten suppliers across three categories: consultancy, contingent labour, and professional services. If a supplier is identified as a top ten supplier in any one of these categories, all other spending with that same supplier in the remaining two categories must also be reported, even if that spending would not otherwise place the supplier in the top ten for those other categories. 1.3 This is a proportional approach to meeting the Committee’s recommendation and ensures that data provided is useful and allows the Committee to see spending with the biggest suppliers and any overlap between the categories.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.4 yrs
Report published 11 Mar 2026