Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225345, how much his Department spent on consultancy in each year since May 2010.

Before the last General Election, there were no effective cross-Governmental controls over spend on consultancy and temporary labour.

Now Ministers, supported by Cabinet Office officials, closely scrutinise what we spend on consultants and temporary labour. Last year, departments saved over £1.4 billion from consultants and temporary labour compared to the spending levels in the final year of the last administration, 2009-10 - a 57% reduction. This helped us save taxpayers £14.3 billion through efficiency and reform in 2013-14 against a 2009-10 baseline.

We will continue to spend money on consultants and temporary labour when there is an appropriate business need to do so. Indeed in some cases engaging temporary labour is more flexible and cheaper for the taxpayer than taking on new staff. But we are also ensuring that the Civil Service has the skills needed. Our Capabilities Plan is designed to address long-standing gaps in four particular areas: digital skills, project management skills, commercial skills, and the leadership and management of change.

We publish all spend data over £25,000 and contracts over £10,000 on Gov.uk and Contracts Finder