A south London council has splurged £31 million on consultants and agency staff in less than 10 months — £6.2 million more than it did over the same period last year.
Figures uncovered by Southwark Liberal Democrats show that Southwark Council has spent £2 million on consultants alone since April 2024, an increase of £300,000 on the comparable 10-month period the previous year. The other £29million was spent on agency staff, highlighting the high cost of filling roles with temporary staff.
Councillor Victor Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader, branded the six-digit sums spent on consultants ‘a waste of money’. He said: “When money is tight for so many families, the council must spend wisely. Here in Southwark there is clear waste that is typical of a Labour council. Liberal Democrats would prioritise investing in frontline services and community projects, not wasting millions on consultants.”
Cllr Victor Chamberlain, leader of Southwark Liberal Democrats, said the spend on consultants was a ‘waste’ of money. (.)
But Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Equalities, Democracy and Finance, defended the council’s use of outsourcing, saying consultants were essential for projects where ‘specific technical knowledge or expertise’ was needed. She added: “We’re committed to permanently employing staff, and bringing services back in house wherever possible — the vast majority of our workforce is in-house.
“We regularly review spending on consultants, working to keep it as low as possible and ensure that any work where we consult on has a positive outcome for our residents, with their priorities at its heart.”
Most of the jump in consultancy spending over the last 10 months is understood to relate to services outsourced to support the procurement and implementation of the council’s new finance, business, IT and HR system. But according to Southwark Liberal Democrats, consultants have also been hired by the council to advise on schemes including Southwark 2030, the Labour-led local authority’s plan for the borough in five years’ time, which has been designed in collaboration with residents.
Cllr Kieron Williams, Labour Leader of Southwark, previously described Southwark 2030 as ‘our shared vision for 2030’ and said that the plan aims to ‘build a fair, green and safe Southwark where everyone can live a good life as part of a strong community’.
Southwark Liberal Democrats said consultants have also provided advice to the council about its programme of school closures. The scheme has seen four schools in the borough shut in two years. Southwark, like other inner London boroughs, is experiencing a crisis of falling student numbers and the council has identified at least 16 schools at risk of closure.