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Smarter Government

The noble Lord will recognise that the issue of consultancy and management advice costs is an important part of the Statement. I have some sympathy with his point. We need to look at value for money in relation to these consultancy positions in the National Health Service. We all know the enormous complexities and challenges of the National Health Service. It is not just that it is such a huge organisation: it is dealing with issues that affect the public in the most significant terms—namely, their health and even matters of life and death. Issues of right decision-taking are more manifest in the health service than in almost any other part of the public service, so of course we have to get it right. We have learnt the lessons. We have had benefits from consultants with regard to the health service and some programmes have been affected by their contributions. But the noble Lord is right: when reduced resources are available, we need to address the issue of consultancy fees. That is why it is included as a major point in the programme of economies.