NI: Millions 'wasted on consultants'

The British government was today accused of wasting £50m (€73.3m) on management consultants and hospitality at a time when the health service in the North is under severe financial pressure.

Most of the taxpayers' money was shelled out for independent experts and there have been calls for future funds to be redirected towards services like policing and education.

Figures for 11 local departments and the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) showed £47.1m (€69m) spent on consultants, £2.7m (€4m) on hospitality and £190,563 (€279,300) on taxis.

Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman David Lidington obtained the information in parliament.

“These are very large sums of money and this spending is happening at a time when front-line services in Northern Ireland are under enormous pressure and it seems at odds with Peter Hain’s reported promises to get better value for money out of government,” he said.

“I want to see money spent on nurses and doctors, teachers and police officers, not on expensive consultants.

“In very large organisations there will be some occasions when an outside eye is helpful, but there are also risks that bringing in consultants becomes a substitute for a decision.

“The department is meant to be expert in its field and I would urge the secretary of state to look rigorously at whether spending on consultants of this magnitude can be justified.”

Management consultants are brought in to give guidance and expertise not available within an organisation commissioning a project or service. The British government maintains they are only used when no in-house alternative is available.

The bill covers three financial years from 2004 ending last March.

Dr Deirdre Heanen, School of Policy Studies at Magee College in Derry, said the level of spending could not be justified.

“The whole process needs to be looked at for a number of reasons in terms of transparency. In many cases they are bringing in accountants when they already have accountants on their staff,” she said.

“It begs the question of why they are doing this when they are already equipped to do so.”

The British National Audit Office drew up a critical report on British government spending on consultants in 2004.

Its investigation found that no real checks were made on money being spent, whether the spending was needed, or whether it had achieved its aim.

A spokeswoman for the UK's Department of Finance and Personnel said: “All departments are well aware of the need to ensure consultants are only engaged when it is the best approach to tackling an issue and provides value for money.

“This is essentially where departments do not have the necessary expertise and where it would not be cost-effective to recruit permanent staff with the relevant expertise.”

She added there were tight budgetary controls applied to all spending, that hospitality helped build networks and said taxis were only used to save time or when there was no alternative transport.

An NIO spokeswoman said: “The NIO has effective arrangements in place for ensuring that expenditure on management consultants is properly justified and monitored.

“The NIO’s expenditure on hospitality is spread across a wide range of business areas including visits from VIPs, members of the royal family and to facilitate interaction with a wide range of groups.”