The Procurement and Management of Consultancy Services
The Procurement and Management of Consultancy Services
All public sector bodies employ
staff. However, when faced with a particular challenge, an organisation may
consider that it lacks the expertise within its own staff to address a
particular concern, project or issue. In such circumstances, public sector organisations
will sometimes temporarily contract in a consultant.
The Auditor General for Wales’
report on The Procurement and Management
of Consultancy Services was published in February 2013. The report found
that although public bodies have reduced their expenditure on consultants, from
£173 million in 2007-08 to £133 million in 2010-11, they are unable to
demonstrate good value for money in the planning, procurement and management of
consultancy services. The extent to which public bodies exercised generally
accepted standards of good practice in the various stages of procuring and
managing consultants also varied considerably.
The Public Accounts Committee considered
it appropriate to conduct a short inquiry into the issues raised by the Auditor
General for Wales’ report.
The Committee was mindful that
procuring a consultant can represent an eminently sensible approach to a
particular issue or challenge but mindful that automatically contracting a
consultant as a default response to new challenges represents poor value to the
public purse.
Business type: Committee Inquiry
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 01/08/2013
Documents