Federal spending on consultants will jump 13% this year, says a Budget Office report. “It has shown consistent growth year over year,” wrote analysts..“The government is proposing to raise planned spending on professional and special services to $19.5 billion, an increase of $2.2 billion or 13% from last year,” said the report The Government’s Expenditure Plan And Main Estimates For 2023-24. “More than half of spending on professional and special services is consistently comprised of five departments alone: National Defence, Public Works, Public Safety, Indigenous Services and Immigration.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, in the narrower field of “management consulting” the Budget Office found “significant growth in spending,” up 195% since 2016. “While management consulting only accounts for a small portion of overall spending on professional and special services, five percent, it has shown consistent growth year over year,” wrote analysts..“Management consulting services encompasses a range of areas including consulting services for financial management, transportation, economic development, environmental planning and public consultation,” said the report. Ballooning consultants’ fees coincided with a 30% increase in the federal payroll since 2016, from 195,565 employees to 254,309 in “core administration,” by Treasury Board estimate..One federal union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service, testified January 30 at the Commons government operations committee that increased hiring of consultants had created a “shadow public service” unaccountable to Parliament or taxpayers. “Unchecked spending on government outsourcing by various governments has created a shadow public service of consultants and temporary staff operating alongside the government workforce,” testified Jennifer Carr, president of the union..Sean Boots, a senior policy advisor with the Treasury Board, testified so many contracts have been awarded to private consultants it was difficult to scrutinize spending. “It’s hard to tell from the publicly available data what a given contract was for,” said Boots. “That’s especially true for management consulting firms that provide a very wide range of services to government departments.”.“It’s hard to tell what work was involved let alone how successfully the contract turned out or not,” said Boots. The Treasury Board knew of numerous cases where consultants were hired to check the work of other consultants, he added..“Especially for large IT projects, one management consulting firm might be hired to oversee the work of another management consulting firm,” said Boots, adding: “That can lead to a set of dynamics where each firm is not necessarily motivated to hold the other to account given their positions will likely be reversed on other future projects.”
Federal spending on consultants will jump 13% this year, says a Budget Office report. “It has shown consistent growth year over year,” wrote analysts..“The government is proposing to raise planned spending on professional and special services to $19.5 billion, an increase of $2.2 billion or 13% from last year,” said the report The Government’s Expenditure Plan And Main Estimates For 2023-24. “More than half of spending on professional and special services is consistently comprised of five departments alone: National Defence, Public Works, Public Safety, Indigenous Services and Immigration.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, in the narrower field of “management consulting” the Budget Office found “significant growth in spending,” up 195% since 2016. “While management consulting only accounts for a small portion of overall spending on professional and special services, five percent, it has shown consistent growth year over year,” wrote analysts..“Management consulting services encompasses a range of areas including consulting services for financial management, transportation, economic development, environmental planning and public consultation,” said the report. Ballooning consultants’ fees coincided with a 30% increase in the federal payroll since 2016, from 195,565 employees to 254,309 in “core administration,” by Treasury Board estimate..One federal union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service, testified January 30 at the Commons government operations committee that increased hiring of consultants had created a “shadow public service” unaccountable to Parliament or taxpayers. “Unchecked spending on government outsourcing by various governments has created a shadow public service of consultants and temporary staff operating alongside the government workforce,” testified Jennifer Carr, president of the union..Sean Boots, a senior policy advisor with the Treasury Board, testified so many contracts have been awarded to private consultants it was difficult to scrutinize spending. “It’s hard to tell from the publicly available data what a given contract was for,” said Boots. “That’s especially true for management consulting firms that provide a very wide range of services to government departments.”.“It’s hard to tell what work was involved let alone how successfully the contract turned out or not,” said Boots. The Treasury Board knew of numerous cases where consultants were hired to check the work of other consultants, he added..“Especially for large IT projects, one management consulting firm might be hired to oversee the work of another management consulting firm,” said Boots, adding: “That can lead to a set of dynamics where each firm is not necessarily motivated to hold the other to account given their positions will likely be reversed on other future projects.”
