Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 18
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)
We also asked the Cabinet Office about the Government Consulting Hub and its usefulness before it was closed. The Cabinet Office said that the Hub was open just under two years and demonstrated that it was possible to provide expert advice to departments in a cost-effective way. However, it was also difficult for a small organisation to compete with the knowledge and skills of large private sector consultancy firms. Given the limited time the GCH was functioning, its overall impact is difficult to assess. The Cabinet Office told us that some of the services of the GCH have been transferred to other parts of Government, such as the advisory service provided by the Crown Commercial Service (Prosper).39
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).