Council leader says consultant cost is less than 0.2% of overall budget

Keith Barrow, Council Leader, said:

“It’s understandable that people may be concerned when they see headlines about councils spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on consultants, but it’s important to put it into context.

“We only employ people from outside the council when there’s a clear reason for doing so. The fact is that sometimes there are certain projects that need specialist expertise, and every time we have employed a consultant it’s been very carefully worked out whether it will save money in the long run.

“An investment of £619,000 to save a couple of million is one that the vast majority of businesses would make, so I’m confident we are being responsible with taxpayers’ money. As a Shropshire resident and taxpayer myself, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“When you compare what we have spent with similar councils in the Midlands, our use of consultants is actually very low. For instance, according to figures on its website, Worcestershire County Council, which is similar to us, spent £1,120,746 on consultants in 2011/12.

“We made a pledge that we would only employ consultants when there was a clear business reason for doing so, and we’re sticking to that.”

The council spent £619,000 on a variety of experts from consultancy firms to deliver a number of projects over 10 months in the 2012/13 financial year – which equates to 0.12% of the gross annual budget. Projects included helping to secure millions of pounds in external funding to improve broadband for Shropshire residents, and leading work on the establishment of the council’s new company, ip&e.

Shropshire Council say the various projects supported by external agencies will save the council in the region of £3.6 million this year, with an ongoing saving of at least £2 million a year in the future.