Government spent £56m on consultants during pandemic
16 private firms have received several multi-million pound contracts
The government handed out £56m of taxpayers’s money to consultancy companies working on the UK’s coronavirus response, leaked documents have shown.
Unpublished contracts seen by The Guardian and openDemocracy, along with many contained within public registers, together reveal the scale of Whitehall’s spending on firms such as Ernst & Young, PwC and Boston Consulting Group, which can charge thousands of pounds a day for their services.
McKinsey, another consultancy firm hired by government staff, was paid £563,400 to determine the “vision, purpose and narrative” of a new public health body to replace the heavily-criticised Public Health England, the Financial Times reports. The work, which lasted six weeks, cost £14,000 a day.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The company worked with three members of the government’s coronavirus response team, including Dido Harding, the former TalkTalk boss who will lead the new agency. Harding is herself a former McKinsey consultant.
Rival consulancy company Deloitte, which was appointed to manage PPE procurement, made a series of “administrative errors” and was responsible for delays in providing testing kits, according to The Guardian.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “All contracts have been awarded in line with procurement regulations, which allows for contracts to be awarded directly in exceptional circumstances such as a global pandemic.”
However, critics of the system say the problems extend beyond the current crisis.
“As numbers in the civil service have been significantly cut back in recent years, we have seen government departments rely more and more on consultants,” said Tom Sasse, a researcher at the Institute for Government. “It is not always clear that these consultants are being used well or where they can add value.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What's wrong with Pakistan's cricket team?
Under the Radar Dramatic downfall of previous powerhouse blamed on poor management and appointments of regime favourites at governing body PCB
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
All about Zealandia, the Earth's potential 8th continent
The Explainer The secret continent went undiscovered for over 300 years
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
JK Rowling's transphobia controversy: a complete timeline
feature How did we get to this point, and what, exactly, has the author said?
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published