Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many external consultancy projects have (a) overrun or (b) failed to deliver expected outcomes in each year since 2020.

From 2022, there have been no consultancy contracts, awarded by the Cabinet Office, that were subject to formal performance action or contract termination due to poor performance. Any informal concerns about the delivery of contract objectives would be managed by contract managers and data is not held on this centrally.

Prior to 2022, individual Cabinet Office Business Units were responsible for contract management and central records for this period are therefore not available.

The Government is committed to stopping all non-essential expenditure on consultants, and reducing the reliance on contingent labour.