Somerset Council spent nearly £19m on consultants since 2023

The council has spent significant sums on consultants and other external support since its inception in April 2023, on top of its ongoing transformation programme.

Anthony Betty, a former Conservative councillor on Sedgemoor District Council, accused the council of being "heavily reliant" on consultants, likening their role to "a sat nav that dictates every turn".

Mr Revans has responded that consultancy spending has fallen in the last 12 months and that such support is not designed to replace the democratic decision-making process.

Mr Betty works as a senior case officer for Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox and currently sits on Othery Parish Council, having previously represented the King's Isle ward on Sedgemoor District Council between 2019 and 2023.

Addressing Somerset Council's executive committee on May 6, he said: "We know this council has become heavily reliant on external consultants to guide its decisions, in much the same way a sat nav dictates every turn.

"However, us residents are not being given a clear picture of the scale of this reliance.

"Therefore, can you set out the council's total expenditure on external consultants and advisory support since April 2023, including any committed or contracted costs, whether already incurred or still to be paid, and provide a breakdown by directorate or service area?"

Mr Revans confirmed that the council had spent £18.9m on consultant over the last three years - around £6.9m per year, or under one per cent of its annual revenue budget.

This does not include spending on agency staff to deliver front-line services, such as social workers or occupational therapists.

Somerset Council's headquarters at County Hall on The Crescent in Taunton (Image: NQ staff)

Mr Revans (who represents the North Petherton division) did not provide a numeric breakdown of the spending during the committee meeting, but assured Mr Betty he would receive such a breakdown in a full written response in the coming weeks.

He stated: "We do use external consultants and advisers, but this is done in a targeted and a proportionate way.

"Their roles is not to replace decision-making but to support improvements, manage risk and deliver savings where specialist or time-limited expertise is needed.

"All such expenditure is approved through the council's normal governance and decision-making processes.

"In line with the local government transparency code, all spending over £500 is published quarterly on our website and is publicly available.

The consultancy spending is less than one per cent of the council's annual revenue budget (Image: Web)

"To provide further clarity, we will set out the total spend on external consultants and advisers since April 2023, based on an analysis of suppliers but not individual invoices.

"This will include costs already incurred as well as any committed or contracted costs yet to be paid, with a breakdown by directorate or service area.

"We remain committed to transparency and to ensuring that any use of external support represents clear value for money for Somerset residents.

"The figure of 2025/26 is significantly lower than the previous two years; as you would expect, the need for such support is greater during local government reorganisation and during a workforce restructure."