Ministers are making savings on civil service spending

Official figures show �1.86bn went to members of the Management Consultancies Association in 2004-05 - an increase of �590m, or 46%, on 2003-04.

Most of this was earned for work for central government departments.

Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Chris Grayling said this was a "waste of money", but a government spokesman said consultants gave "value for money".

Civil service cuts

The MCA represents 65% of the consultancy industry in the UK.

The increase in public sector spending on management and IT consultancies comes after the government announced a target reduction of 84,000 civil service jobs by 2007-08.

Mr Grayling said: "What I find most alarming is that the growth in this spending seems to be out of control.

"This is turning into the most monumental waste of public money. We have a highly experienced civil service, which needs to be given the chance to get on with the job.

"Hiring teams of consultants at vast expense to tell them how to do their jobs is not my idea of good government."

But Fiona Czerniawska, director of the MCA think tank, said the increase in public sector spending on consultancies reflected a trend in the private sector.

'Not out of line'

She said: "What you have seen in the last few years is the public sector catching up in terms of the level of increase and it is just a wider management belief that you do not need to have all the resources in-house.

"I do not think it is anything out of line with all the other things going on in the economy."

A statement from the Office of Government Commerce, which provided the figures, said: "The use of consultants allows government to bring in skills that are not available within the public sector to support a wide variety of programmes and projects.