THE amount councils in Worcestershire spend on outside consultants has rocketed £386,000 in just one year – despite job cuts across the public sector.
The biggest increase, of £360,000, was at Worcestershire County Council.
At Malvern Hills District Council there was an increase from £17,079 to £20,938 in the year to April 2012.
Coun Paul Cumming, the Malvern Hills cabinet member for finance, said: “The vast majority of our budget is used to provide in-house services directly to residents.
“We do, from time to time, have to call on specialist professionals for particular projects – most of the consultancy spending relates to mechanical engineering projects in connection with the council’s properties. This amounts to a tiny proportion of our overall budget.”
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