A measure that might cost consulting businesses billions of pounds in lucrative contracts is the UK government's commitment to drastically cut back on expenditure on outside advising firms, which has been made by both the Conservative and Labour parties. Recent manifesto announcements have pledged to cut the use of consultants in half over the next parliament, with savings estimated to be about $3.8 billion over a five-year period. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and digital transformation initiatives, the usage of consultants has increased to unprecedented levels since the previous election.
Critics argue that the government’s dependency on consultants wastes money and undermines the development of in-house skills within the civil service. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have emphasized the need to reallocate funds from consultancy spending to frontline public services. Previous attempts to curb consultancy use have failed. The consulting industry maintains that its services provide cost-effective expertise for short-term projects, and any cuts may reduce productivity and effectiveness. Despite these concerns, both parties are committed to implementing significant reductions in consultancy spending.
