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18/11/2011
MoD Consultancy Costs £564M
The Ministry of Defence has spent £564 million on consultants, according to figures released on Thursday in the Guardian.
An audit by the Ministry of Defence, acquired under the Freedom of Information Act found "non-existent" controls on the department's budgets, while defence officials had spent £564m on "technical advice".
The ministry's spend on consultancy was just £6 million in 2006, but new guidelines introduced by Labour in 2009 meant that regulation over the use of consultants and special advisers was ended, leading to there runaway use and cost.
The MoD said it was now "tightening the approvals process to ensure proper scrutiny of spending".
The news comes barely a week since the announcement that 2,500 wounded soldiers, including 350 who have lost limbs, would not be exempt from extensive cuts to military personnel.
An internal memo, sent to senior commanders in Afghanistan last week, revealed that 16,500 personnel will be made redundant by April 2015 – more than double the number originally proposed.
(DW)
An audit by the Ministry of Defence, acquired under the Freedom of Information Act found "non-existent" controls on the department's budgets, while defence officials had spent £564m on "technical advice".
The ministry's spend on consultancy was just £6 million in 2006, but new guidelines introduced by Labour in 2009 meant that regulation over the use of consultants and special advisers was ended, leading to there runaway use and cost.
The MoD said it was now "tightening the approvals process to ensure proper scrutiny of spending".
The news comes barely a week since the announcement that 2,500 wounded soldiers, including 350 who have lost limbs, would not be exempt from extensive cuts to military personnel.
An internal memo, sent to senior commanders in Afghanistan last week, revealed that 16,500 personnel will be made redundant by April 2015 – more than double the number originally proposed.
(DW)
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