Central government in Scotland should manage its use of consultants better

Scotland’s central government bodies spend an estimated £114 million a year on consultancy services. With better planning and management, the public sector could get better value for money.

An Audit Scotland report, Central government’s use of consultancy services, looks at the planning, management and spending on consultants by the Scottish Government, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and central government agencies.

The Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black, said:

“Consultants can bring added knowledge and skills, but if this is not well-managed, hiring consultants can be an expensive option.

"Central government bodies need to plan their use of consultants so that they use their knowledge and skills where it brings greatest value for money. They should gather and share consistent information on what consultancy services they buy and why.

"Bodies should consider when it is better to use their own staff, and how best to ensure public servants learn from consultants when they are hired for projects or in advisory roles.”

Most spending on consultants is for information technology and business management services, with these two areas accounting for £68 million of the estimated £114 million spent in 2006/07. In that year, central government bodies used more than 1,200 different consultancies.

The report says there is no clear strategy for the use of consultants or links to central government’s priorities or financial and workforce plans. Better planning, management and purchasing of consultancy services could save up to £13 million a year. However, when public bodies hire consultants they generally do this process well, by following key aspects of good practice in public sector procurement.

The Scottish Government has recently developed revised guidance on the use of consultants. This reflected emerging findings from Audit Scotland’s report and may help address some of the report’s recommendations.