Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 11
71st Report - Government’s use of external consultants
Published 11 Mar 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government's use of external consultants All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Chancellor’s July 2024 speech set targets to cut consultancy spending, including an immediate halt to non-essential services and halving future spend to save £550 million in 2024–25. These goals were reiterated in the 2024 Autumn Budget. Cabinet Office and HM Treasury are jointly monitoring departments’ progress against the savings targets.25 17 C&AG’s Report, para 1.33 18 Q 27 19 Qq 27-28 20 Qq 30, 39 21 Q 29 22 Q 30 23 Qq 27-28 24 Q 31 25 C&AG’s Report, para 1.30 9 In written evidence provided after the session, the Cabinet Office explained that the baseline for achieving £550 million in savings in 2024–25 was calculated using departmental forecasts, submitted through OSCAR in June 2024. This amount totalled £1.5 billion, excluding expenditure related to the NHS, the Devolved Governments, and Local Authorities.26
From: Public Accounts Committee, 71st Report - Government’s use of external consultants (HC 1521), 11 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 1 June 2026 (deadline 11 May 2026).