The UK government has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money by spending £2.8 billion on management consultants alone last year.
While the government in Westminster demanded that Britons bear the highest tax burden since World War II in order to pay down the massive debt accumulated during the government-imposed lockdowns, billions of taxpayer dollars were being handed out to private consultants to advise the government on a variety of issues, including the English Channel illegal boat migrant crisis.
The government spent £2.8 billion on consultants in 2022, quadrupling the amount spent on consultants just six years ago, according to The Times.
The London-based broadsheet revealed that six companies each received at least £100 million in government contracts, with Deloitte receiving approximately £278 million.
From among contracts awarded to Deloitte was a £3.9 million contract for “support for the delivery of small boat arrivals,” which is thought to be related to the Home Office’s so far unsuccessful efforts to reduce the number of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel.
An additional £1.8 million was spent on Ernst & Young to help manage the placement of migrants in hotels across the country while their asylum claims were processed.
The Ministry of Defence is said to have spent the most on consultants, spending £363 million on contracts, including a £31 million deal with Microsoft, a £20 million deal with Newton Europe to improve “army efficiency,” and a ten-year £215 million deal with formerly government-owned defence contractor Qinetiq to consult on the construction of next-generation submarines.
“At the height of a cost of living crisis, ministers are wasting billions hiring consultants to tell them how to do their jobs. Instead of investing in the civil service’s skills, talent, and value for money, the government has become reliant on expensive private consultants,” Labour Party Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said.