When Labour snatched control of Luton Council in 2007 their finance portfolio holder boasted that consultants were ‘a thing of the past’. They claimed that they would not be taking on any more consultants.

Now, figures uncovered by opposition Liberal Democrat councillors reveal that in the three years since Labour took over at the Town Hall they have spent a total of £13,443,944 of taxpayers’ money on consultants. They even spent £109,000 on a consultant to manage the other consultants.

“Most large organisations will spend some money on consultants,” says Liberal Democrat Councillor David Franks. “When you need an electrician or a plumber at home you bring one in, you don’t employ one all the time. The Council should be spending some money to buy in expertise they don’t need very often but this spend is out of control.”

“It’s the hypocrisy we are complaining about. They boasted when they took over in 2007 that consultants were ‘a thing of the past’ and pledged they would do away with spending millions on consultants. We didn’t believe them at the time and now they’ve been found out”.