# Halve consultancy spending, saving £700m a year

> “It will work with departments to halve consultancy spending and save over £700m annually by 2028/29.”
>
> — Louise Haigh, First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Labour Party; Written ministerial statement, 12 October 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Running government](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/running-government)
- **Speaker:** [Louise Haigh](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/louise-haigh), First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 12 October 2026
- **Where:** Written ministerial statement
- **Deadline:** 31 March 2029
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Government departments, and the consultancies they hire
- **When:** By 2028-29
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-12/HCWS356 (checked word for word on 13 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 13 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-halve-consultancy-spend-2029

## Where it stands

"It" in the quote is a new central Insourcing Unit, which the statement says the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet is setting up to coordinate departments' insourcing. The statement does not give the baseline year that the halving and the saving are measured from. The card moves on the government's reported consultancy spending for 2028-29.

## Timeline

- 12 October 2026, Promised: The Cabinet Office says a new Insourcing Unit will work with departments to halve consultancy spending and save over £700m a year by 2028-29
- 31 March 2029, Deadline (to come): Consultancy spending halved, saving over £700m a year, due by 2028-29

## About the cost

A saving, not a cost: over £700m a year by 2028-29, by the government's figure.

## Sources

- [Written ministerial statement HCWS356, 12 Oct 2026: Procurement Reform: Measures to create good jobs and opportunities in the UK](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-12/HCWS356)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 13 October 2026.

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