Nottingham City Council has spent more than £5m on external consultants as part of work to stabilise its finances and improve its workplace culture, it can be revealed. A further £6.5m is also expected to be spent on consultants for the improvement of the council’s failing children’s services.
The council says some of the spending is on short-term, essential support which will improve the authority in the long-term and so provide value for money. Upon the publication of a public interest report into poor governance of Robin Hood Energy in 2020, the Government appointed an Improvement and Assurance Board to oversee a plan to bring about change within the Labour-run authority.
Since it was appointed in 2021, the board, chaired by Sir Tony Redmond, has reported back to the Government every quarter on the council’s progress. To bring about rapid improvement and avoid further Government intervention the council has been employing external consultants and interim staff in various departments, due to a lack of internal expertise.
