Recommendation 13

The response to a parliamentary question confirmed that, at the beginning of November 2020, there were 2,300 consultants and contractors working for 73 different suppliers in NHST&T, with a total consultancy cost of approximately £375 million up to that point.43 However, when giving evidence to the Science and Technology Committee on 3 February, NHST&T said that it was still employing around 2,500 consultants.44 When we took evidence in mid-January, the Department estimated around 900 contractors from Deloitte alone were still on NHST&T’s books.45 The Department reported to us that the average cost per consultant was about £1,100 a day, up to a maximum of £6,624 for some consultancy staff.46 It also said it had plans to reduce NHST&T’s reliance on external consultants, although this was dependent on the availability of civil service recruits to fill posts and future demand for test and trace services.47