BBC bosses spent over £5million in a year on consultants – to tell them how to do their own jobs.
The £159 licence fees of more than 30,000 households went on swanky City firms providing reports and advice.
The huge outlay comes as latest payroll figures show that Auntie already employs 234 senior leaders.
Most of these in-house roles pay more than £100,000 a year, costing licence-payers about £35m a year in total.
Yet officials have also revealed they spent £2m last year getting general advice from external consultants on “strategy” . Another £1.8m was spent on consultants giving advice on financial issues, while £818,000 went on getting help with staffing and human resources issues.
A further £513,000 was spent on experts to advise on computers and technology.
The £5.2m consultants’ bill was almost double the £2.8million it spent on such services in the previous 12 months.
Andrew Allison, of pressure group the Freedom Association, said: “The BBC is top heavy with management, and if those managers were any good, they wouldn’t have to spend this cash on consultants. It highlights what little regard they have for licence fee payers.” Last year the biggest spend was £1.2m with global firm McKinsey, whose website boasts it can “help our clients accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth”.
Another £1.1m was paid to Deloitte, last year announced by the BBC as one of 16 firms hired in a £40m project to modernise its software. Global consulting giant PwC was paid £1.1m by the corporation last year.
Previously PwC was hired to advise on efficiency and said cash could be clawed back by paying less to the BBC’s big names.
In the previous three years the BBC has also spent large amounts with other firms.
A BBC spokesman said: “In common with other organisations, the BBC uses consultancy services to access supplementary skills, expertise and experience when required outside of routine work. Costs are always kept to a minimum.”
