The MCA’s annual report found that aggregate consulting fee income from the public sector in the 2015 calendar year was £1.123bn, up slightly from £1.109bn in 2014 and £1.107bn in 2013.
However, spending remains below the peak of £1.803bn in 2009. Public sector consultancy spending fell to a low of £999m in 2011 due to the government’s austerity drive, the MCA’s figures show.
Many firms experienced this growth in the run up to the 2015 election and reported a pause as the new government developed its plans for the Spending Review, the analysis highlighted.
MCA chief executive Alan Leaman said consulting was value for taxpayers by helping deliver better services in innovative ways. “We’ll continue to work with the Crown Commercial Service and the Cabinet Office to ensure the use of consulting expertise is genuinely focused on value for money and the transformational change that government needs,” he added. “This report confirms that we are making progress.”
Overall, the report showed that MCA members – including Big 4 accounting firms, Accenture and IBM – saw fee income increase by an average of 8% in 2015. This is down from 8.4% in 2014, but remains quicker than overall economic growth.
