The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Julia Lopez)
My noble Friend, the Minister of State for Efficiency and Transformation, Lord Agnew of Oulton, has today made the following written statement.
I am pleased today to formally launch the new Government Consulting Hub, a centre of expertise for Her Majesty's Government on management consultancy. As the Minister for Efficiency and Transformation in the Cabinet Office and Her Majesty’s Treasury, I am aware of the enormous potential that the civil service has, and I am committed to ensuring that the work of the civil service offers public value and upholds the highest standards of performance. As our centre of excellence for consultancy, the Government Consulting Hub will establish new approaches to knowledge generation and sharing and to training in partnership with the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit. It will drive up capacity and the capacity to work jointly across Departments to reuse thinking and work, and to be our own experts where is it reasonable to do so. These core elements will provide the civil service with a powerful resource, helping to reduce the amount spent on consultancy, maximise value where consultants are needed, and support the growth and use of the civil service’s internal capability to deliver consultancy type work and to deploy consultancy type skills. This is not just a savings exercise. This is a real opportunity to invest in the future of the civil service, to build capability, skills and experience, and to have a much greater impact in the work that is delivered. An overview of the work of the Government Consulting Hub has been published today on gov.uk.
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