Ministers 'hooked on consultants' after huge contract to assess abandoned project

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Program launched fall 2022 - but closed to new applications in December, blaming 'low turnout'

Rishi Sunak announced the program in the 2021 budget (

Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Ministers have been accused of being 'addicted' to expensive private sector consultants after handing out a £1.6m contract to evaluate a program which was abandoned after just a few months.

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Rishi Sunak announced the Aid to Growth: Digital program in his Spring 2021 budget when he was Chancellor of Boris Johnson.

It launched in the fall of 2022 - but closed to new applications in December, blaming "low turnout".

Mr. Sunak said the program, which was to last until 2025, "would help companies become more innovative, more competitive and more profitable".

Consultancy firm RSM UK was awarded a contract worth £1,559,789 in January 2022 to 'join the program ahead of its launch to produce data collection tools and assess processes'.

Shadow Minister for Labor Affairs, Seema Malhotra (

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Surrey announcer)

MP Seema Malhotra, Shadow Labor Minister for Business and Consumers, said: "UK businesses are crying out for help in the face of rising prices, but all Rishi Sunak came up with was a plan piecemeal that didn't work.< /p>

"This is yet another example of a government hooked on expensive private consultants, using millions of taxpayers' money to feed their spiraling addiction.

"The Tories are failing small businesses with a budget that has done little to support our fantastic entrepreneurs. Labor would cut small business rates, legislate to tackle late payments and make Britain the best place to start and grow a business. Clearly Labor is the party for small business."

A Department of Commerce and Commerce spokesperson said the value of the contract...