Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 19
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 Cabinet Office stated that it incorporates and shares lessons from international best practice through both functions, for example by attending the Global Government Forum. We asked how government measures the effectiveness of disseminating this information. The Cabinet Office explained that it is often applied within functions and that guidance is occasionally updated to reflect international best practice, such as with the digital work they are currently doing across government. When asked who is responsible for ensuring departments follow best practice guidance, the Cabinet Office stated that while it is the Cabinet Office’s responsibility to provide best practice, implementing it is the individual departments’ responsibility.40 Strategic workforce planning
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).