Councils get consultants' vote

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has carried out a survey among its members which reveals that consulting firms believe local councils are better prepared than central government departments to reshape their business in the light of the forthcoming budget cuts. The survey, to be published later this week, is interesting in its reasoning. The consultants in the MCA survey scored local government's preparedness to respond to cuts at 2.65 out of 5, which suggests the consultants think local government is, in fact, only just over halfway to being fully ready for change. The MCA says local government is ahead of central government because it has been clear for longer that councils will have to make significant cuts. Overall, central departments score under 2 out of 5 for preparedness. Of course, it depends what you mean by preparedness. Last month, a report that Whitehall departments are expected to suffer less than other parts of the public sector implies that central government may indeed be preparing for cuts, but though what Julian Glover, in this morning's Guardian , describes trenchantly as a series of "state-funded special interest groups pleading for indulgence". With the exception, in this survey at least, of major departments like the Department for Work and Pensions and the business department, Whitehall may be preparing itself by finding ways to shift the full impact of the cuts to other parts of the public sector. That might surprise no one, particularly long-suffering parts of local government, which have indeed felt the impact of previous "transformational programmes" more than central government. There's a not very hidden agenda here. Alan Leaman, the chief executive of the MCA, says local government managers are ahead of the curve. It's not simply an altruistic compliment. He goes on to say that they are used to "working well with consultants". The survey highlights increased private sector use of consultants, which is being reflected in recruitment. The Financial Times reports that the four big professional services firms are taking on hundreds of new recruits to cope with demand from financial and manufacturing companies, and in the face of concerns that the industry would be "savaged" by the government's decision to slash consultancy in the public sector. The papers says Deloitte is hiring 400 staff to join its existing 2,100-strong team by the end of May as it attempts to increase earnings from management consultancy by 15% per. Ernst & Young is recruiting an extra 200 consultants as it anticipates a doubling in business for its 1,000-strong management consulting division, while KPMG is to hire a further 550 advisers, lifting total numbers in its consultancy division to 1,100. In this phoney war, preparation is vital. This survey clearly wants to suggest that in the face of the biggest clampdown on consultancy spending of the past few years, using consultants will help the public sector tackle cuts. There's nothing wrong with that message. Whether it will be heard in a public sector desperate not only not to spend money but also terrified to be seen to be spending money on the "wrong things" remains to be seen.