Taxpayers spent an eye-watering £3.4 billion on private consultants last year, marking a staggering 57% increase over the past five years as the public sector opted to outsource staff for various projects. According to data company Tussell, civil service departments spent the most, accounting for 58% of the total, with the Energy Department spending the most at £339 million. That’s a lot of cash forked out in a single year…

It’s odd the blob feel the need to spend so much on outsourcing workers, considering the number of civil servants has increased to 503,000, with the salary bill rising by 60% – or £5.8 billion – over the seven years up to 2023 Meanwhile, Labour have committed to a 5% pay rise for all civil servants, despite wails of a fiscal “black hole”. Perhaps the never-ending public sector strikes may be driving the government to splash the cash on consultants…