ScotGov must explain consultancy contracts now
Scottish taxpayers should be alarmed at the rapidly rising costs of private consultant contracts
It is useful for any government to bring in outside expertise. But recently disclosed information reveals a Scottish Government heavily dependent on a single private contractor. It also shows rapidly escalating costs for taxpayers to shoulder.
In 2016/17 the Scottish Government spent approximately £1,298,001 in consultancy fees. Of that, £341,558 was spent on the private contracting supplier Deloitte. This covered areas such as internal auditing, general medical services, ‘other health services’, employment and training interventions and employability and training.
Nothing particularly extraordinary about any of that. But what happens when we look at the fees Scotland’s government spent in 2020/21 on private consultancy contractors?
In 2020/21 the SNP government spent £10,702,271 on private consultants. So that is an increase of £9,404,270 between 2016/17 and 2020/21. And interestingly Deloitte has succeeded in securing the lions share of the rising spending. £8,147,555 of that £10,702,271 spent in year 2020/21 was just on Deloitte.
That one private consultancy firm secured an overwhelming amount of the monies spent by the SNP government on private consulting. That alone raises eyebrows. Not least since Deloitte is the same company that charged the UK government £1m a day to oversee the NHS Test and Trace system.
But another aspect worth focusing on is the millions the SNP spent on Deloitte for the ‘Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB)’. ScotGov handed Deloitte £2.7m to set up the investment bank. Only problem is, the Chairman of that investment bank has publicly admitted the funding it has is “insufficient” to meet its objectives. So Nicola Sturgeon has handed £2.7m of taxpayers money to Deloitte in aid of the SNIB which is unable to fulfil its objectives anyway. Personally I’d like to hear Ms Sturgeon account for the decision making that went into that decision.
Overall when you compare the amounts being spent by the Scottish Government on the ‘big 5’ private consultancy firms, the overwhelming dominance of Deloitte is completely obvious.
Why has just one firm, Deloitte, been the recipient of such a high proportion of SNP government contracts?
Just how does this Scottish Government conduct and operate its procurement processes?
The answers to these two questions should be very interesting given the majority of contracts are flowing to just one private sector firm.
But then, this is the SNP we’re talking about here. A government party with a history of poor procurement and public spending decision making. They nationalised Fergusson Marine and have spent £300m on two ferries. Over budget, overdue and still not sailing.
This is the same Scottish government that surprised everyone by spending only £1 nationalising Prestwick airport…only for everyone to discover the SNP dished out bonuses upwards of £200,000 to the failed airport’s bosses. All tax taxpayers expense.
And of course this is the same SNP government that provided the billionaire Sanjeev Gupta a taxpayer guarantee of £586m. Of course Gupta would go on to sponsor an SNP conference dinner, after ministers had given that huge guarantee. Gupta also met with then-SNP minister Fergus Ewing & controversial banker Lex Greensill for a dinner-date that was not minuted, had no civil servants present. Who knows what was discussed there.
The same Sanjeev Gupta that the SNP gave its guarantee to is now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office:
“The SFO is investigating suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering in relation to the financing and conduct of the business of companies within the Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG), including its financing arrangements with Greensill Capital UK Ltd”
Oh. Would you look at that. Greensill and Gupta. Pity Fergus Ewing met with them both whilst a minister in Nicola Sturgeon’s government. Even more a pity when he claimed no emails, texts or phone records exist concerning the dinner date at Cail Bruich in the Glasgow’s west end.
This is all illustrates a pattern of behaviour with the Scottish Government which provides legitimate and fair basis to seriously question ScotGov procurement processes. So to repeat the earlier questions concerning the millions being handed over to Deloitte:
Why has just one firm, Deloitte, been the recipient of such a high proportion of SNP government contracts?
Just how does this Scottish Government conduct and operate its procurement processes?
We all eagerly await the answers. But one thing is clear, this SNP government has some serious explaining to do.
Sources
Serious Fraud Office: ‘SFO confirms investigation into Gupta Family Group Alliance’
Daily Telegraph: ‘Nicola Sturgeon under pressure to explain Deloitte contracts’
Sunday Times: ‘Scottish National Investment Bank’s £2bn funding ‘not enough’ to fulfil role’
Daily Telegraph: ‘NHS Test and Trace still has 900 consultants on the books on £1,000 a day’
Scottish Government FOI Nov 23rd: ‘Consultancy fees data: FOI release’
Daily Record: ‘Business giant probed by fraud squad sponsored swanky SNP conference dinner’