Yahoo Finance Audit finds government spent £32m extra on Brexit consultancy
The government spent £32m more than it said it had on Brexit-related consultancy fees in the 12 months to April, the National Audit Office (NAO) said on Friday.
Figures released by the Cabinet Office indicated that, between April 2018 and April 2019, the government had either spent or agreed to spend £65m on consultancy services related to the UK’s departure from the European Union.
But the NAO found tens of millions worth of additional expenditure, largely related to contracts signed before the Cabinet Office began offering support to government departments in relation to their spending on consultants.
Overall, the government spent £97m on consultancy related to Brexit, which was used “to fill specific skills gaps and to meet immediate staffing needs.”
The NAO also criticised the government for the way it published its figures, saying that “departments have not met the standards of transparency expected” and noting that it took 119 days on average for them to publish “basic information” about contracts.
There was a peak in contact extensions in April 2019, when the UK extended its Article 50 period until the end of October.
“Departments continue to prepare for EU Exit and total spend on consultancy support will rise,” the NAO said in a statement.
Six companies have received 96% of the government’s Brexit consultancy fees: Deloitte, PA Consulting, PwC, EY, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group.
Meanwhile, overall consultancy spending has trebled, from £500m in 2015-16 to £1.5bn in 2017-18.
But the NAO found a huge discrepancy between total figures and those reported in the annual reports of government departments.
The NAO said the Cabinet Office “was working to understand these differences and was planning to review trends in departments’ spending on consultancy and other professional services.”
