Speaking last week at a global governance conference in Saudi Arabia, a colleague from Texas asked about the role of consultants in the success (or failure) of UK councils and what ensures they deliver added value.

Imagine my surprise when, a matter of hours later, reports emerged that our chancellor was about to tell local government to curb spending on consultants. Colleagues from around the globe were not impressed by the chancellor's analysis or his nerve, given the Government's own consultancy spend ballooned by 130% to £723m between 2018-19 and 2021-22.