Whitehall Consultants Cost 2bn Per Year
Go to: Previous Article Next Article
Newly released figures show the taxpayer paying 2bn per year for Whitehall contractors and consultants.
Figures released from the largest ever survey of its kind shows nearly 20,000 temporary workers in government departments and quangos. There are currently 640,000 permanently employed there.
100,000 is the average cost per annum for a consultant which is three times what the average permanent civil servant is shown to cost.
It is thought that the Cabinet Office who compiled the data will use it to reduce their usage of consultants and freelancers.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said "It's important the Government gets this kind of management information so that it can really get a grip on numbers."
"Today's figures may be a bit rough and ready, but we have to start gathering this kind of information straight away so that we know what the total workforce of government really is. Until now we've only had an incomplete picture of the true numbers of people working for us. But as we continue to push forward with our efficiency agenda, we need to ensure managers have this kind of basic management information.
"Even though today's numbers may not be perfect, it's important to put what we do know into the public domain straight away as we have promised to be more transparent about what is really going on in government."
There are details included in the survey from 320 public sector bodies which range from the 91,000 plus employed by Jobcentre Plus to the Teachers TV Board of Governors who employ just 5 staff.
The biggest percentage of consultants and temporary staff are found in the Ministry of Defence. These include specialist consultants, contractors, agency staff and interim managers that total 1,193, with figures calculated at the end of March 2010.
1,000 temps are shown to be working in the Department of Health and the Environment Agency.
Other interesting data included the 265m spent on non payroll staff at The Department of Health 2009-2010, 244m spent by The Home Office and 146m by the Ministry of Defence.
In 2009-2010 the total figures showed 641,611 payroll staff earning 20,513bn which brought out an average salary of 31,971; whereas the consultants and temporary workers totalled 19,967 at the cost of 2,003bn which produces an average wage of 100,315 each.
The Cabinet Office has said that the survey is currently "incomplete", as figures could change. They also pointed out that numbers were not produced by The Independent Office for National Statistics but by the departments themselves.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
- Credit Cards A big selection of Cards in all flavors: Bad Credit Cards, Secured Cards, Prepaid Cards, Canada Cards, Low Interest Cards -
Word Count: 429
Reduce Your Debts Without Bankruptcy. See How Much You Can Save. Free Debt Analysis
