The UK government awarded KPMG a £223 million contract to train civil servants. This happens just after the commitment to reduce money spent on external consultants. Under the 15-month deal, different training programs are planned despite the promise that had been issued recently to significantly cut consultancy costs.

In a surprise turn of events, the UK government awarded KPMG a huge contract worth £223 million for the training of its civil servants. This came despite the government’s recent promise to slash spending on external consultants. The 15-month deal is one of the largest public sector contracts ever awarded to KPMG and will involve the firm offering various training and development services.

So, exactly what will KPMG be doing? They are going to be involved in managing training courses throughout the civil service. These will be for such diverse themes as policymaking and communication to career development. And KPMG will organize the training leading to qualifications offered by universities and other specialist schools.

This contract was announced just as the new Labour government was gearing up to cut back on spending for consultants. The government pledged to cut its consultancy bill by halving it in the coming years. They are aiming at saving a whopping £550 million in the 2024-25 financial year and another £680 million in 2025-26.

You might wonder why that huge contract was handed out in the run-up to the government establishing these new cost-cutting objectives. This contract had an agreement date before the general election, the official record reveals. At £223 million, the maximum value of the contract, it is nearly 8% of KPMG’s annual revenues in the UK; that makes it the second-biggest public sector contract KPMG has won.

But KPMG’s journey to this place has not been smooth. The company was in much turmoil three years ago due to some severe scandals. Some irregularities were observed within their audit, such as forgery and misleading regulators. This meant that KPMG had to pay one the largest fines in UK audit history. Following the scandals, KPMG pulled out of the race for some time from bidding for contracts.

By 2022, however, KPMG was back in the race and resumed bidding for public sector contracts. Now, thanks to the £223 million deal it has won, the company is again mired in controversy. In response, the government spokesperson said that the value of this contract represents a ceiling rather than an amount necessarily to be spent. All sorts of spending under this contract must still represent good value for money for the taxpayers.

That this is an exceedingly big contract can be seen from the viewpoint of both the government and KPMG. It gives KPMG an opportunity to prove itself with large public sector projects despite their troubled background. From the government’s point of view, the training is wholesale for civil servants and might further raise the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall public service.

The timing of this contract is particularly interesting. Just at a time when the government is making loud noises about cutting back on consultancy spending, along comes arguably one of the largest deals ever awarded to a consulting firm. This contrast begs the question: how does the government square its cost-saving goals with the need for effective training and development in its departments?.

In summary, the UK government’s decision to award KPMG this massive £223 million contract has expectedly shaken a good deal of attention from different quarters. Breaking earlier promises to cut down on consultancy spending, the government took a radically opposite step: it is investing heavily in training civil servants. Now, KPMG, a company with a chequered past, will have the responsibility to see that this investment pays off and that the training programmes delivered are effective and of value.

This is not only a massive financial commitment, but also a very critical step towards shaping the future of public service training in the UK. Only time will tell how this large contract dovetails into the broader government goals on saving costs and how KPMG performs in its new role as the process unfolds.