Brexit Preparations Have Cost The Government £97m So Far, Report Finds

Labour MP Meg Hillier, Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee chairwoman, said it was “not good enough” that the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for improving government efficiency, appeared to have lost track of 50% of the consultancy costs.

She said: “The lack of transparency around Brexit preparations that my committee has become all too familiar with applies to the use of these consultants.

“It is not good enough that some departments are failing to publish even basic information about their contracts and that the Cabinet Office does not know how much is being spent across government.

“The Cabinet Office must ensure that departments’ use of consultants, and the money spent, is fully open to public scrutiny.”

Half a dozen consultancy firms scooped up 96% of contracts – Deloitte, PA Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst Young, Bain Company, and Boston Consulting Group, according to the NAO.

A Management Consultancies Association spokeswoman said consultants had been “proud to provide expert support” and “provide value for money”.

She said: “Departments have faced an unprecedented volume of workload planning for all Brexit scenarios and using external resources has enabled the Government to work quickly and with intensity on major programmes across the UK.

“At short notice we’ve been able to bring world-class technical expertise and multi-disciplinary capabilities and it has been our priority to strengthen the UK’s Brexit planning processes, whatever the outcome, and provide value for money to Government departments.

“Planning for Brexit has been an absolute necessity following the referendum and the investment into consultancy work has enabled the UK to challenge traditional thinking and find new ways of operating and doing business.”

A Government spokesman defended the spending, which he said was “cost-efficient”.

He said: “It is often more cost-efficient to draw upon the advice of external specialists for short-term projects requiring specialist skills.

“These include EU exit priorities such as ensuring the uninterrupted supply of medical products and food to the UK.”