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Consideration was
given to recommendation CE 24/34 of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee of 11 September 2024 in respect of consultant use at the
Council.  
 
Cabinet had due
regard to the views of the Committee, the financial and value for
money considerations and the legal implications and noted that some
of the external support provided had resulted in cost savings and
efficient project delivery, which would not have been possible
without external experts.
 
With regard to recommendation (6) of the Overview
and Scrutiny Committee regarding consultancy spend in excess of
£40,000, Cabinet felt that further consideration was needed
to ensure that this did not lead to delays in delivery and
increased cost. 
 
RESOLVED:
That
 
(1)
   the information provided in the
summary of consultancy spend at Annex 2, be noted;

 
(2)
   further detail about consultancy
spend on specific projects be provided
to a future meeting of the Committee, with questions to be provided
in writing to Officers to enable responses to be prepared;

 
(3)
   the Council be requested to
continue to closely manage future use of external experts and an
ongoing review of consultant use at the Council be reported to the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee on an annual basis;
 
(4)
   officers be requested to
continue to look for opportunities to collaborate with other
councils; and
 
(5)
   the Council maintain its
effectiveness at retaining specialist talent, to reduce the need
for external experts going forward.