Outsourcing Brexit: £180 Million in Cabinet Office Contracts for Corporate Giants https://bylinetimes.com/2020/10/26/outsourcing-brexit-180-million-cabinet-office-contracts-corporate-giants/

Huge #Government contracts for the delivery of #Brexit have been awarded to the same outsourcing behemoths making a mint from #Coronavirus, reports Sam Bright

#Brexit consultancy contracts worth £180 million have been outsourced by the Cabinet Office to corporate giants including #Deloitte and #McKinsey, Byline Times can reveal.

Released today, #Govt documents show six identical contracts, each worth £30 million,

for the provision of “strategic programme management” related to the conclusion of the Brexit transition period – set to formally end on 31 December, 2020.

The consultancy contracts run from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021,

and have been awarded to #McKinsey, #Bain and Company, #KPMG, #Accenture, #Deloitte, and #PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – six of the world’s largest accountancy and management consultancy firms. There is also an option to extend all the contracts by a further year if needed,

taking the potential spend to £360 million !

For their cash, these firms are expected to “support the successful delivery of the #UK’s economic and political independence” the contracts read. “Including relationships with the #EU and the rest of the world.”

Consultants “may be placed in any #Govt department,” the contracts say, to help deliver projects. However, their assistance will be especially demanded in the areas related to #immigration, international #trade, #food, #agriculture, #animal welfare, and #healthcare supply

The inclusion of the final item in this list is a worry, given it has already been put under strain by the #Coronavirus pandemic.

The
COVID
Chumocracy
The contracts note that, over the past two years, the Cabinet Office has engaged in a similar consultancy arrangement,

costing £88 million; a quarter of the total prospective spend for this next two year period.
It seems ironic that #Brexit was flogged on the notion that the #UK would be regaining its democratic sovereignty from #Brussels, yet the country’s “independence” will be delivered

by a flock of highly-paid, grey-suited, unelected #corporate #consultants.
Outsourcing Overload
What’s more, many of these same consultancy firms have already made a mint during the ongoing #Coronavirus pandemic. #Deloitte has been awarded contracts worth millions

to assist with the #Govt’s pandemic response, including the management of some testing centres.

#McKinsey, meanwhile, was paid £563,000 – £14,000 a day – for six weeks’ work in helping to define the “vision, purpose and narrative”

of the new National Institute for Health Protection ( #NIHP). The health body, a replacement for Public Health England, is currently chaired by #DidoHarding – a former employee of #McKinsey along with her husband, Government ‘Anti-Corruption Champion’ John #Penrose MP.

‘SACK SERCO’
Why Boris Johnson’s Addiction to
OUTSOURCING MUST END
Earlier this month, the #Govt was forced to defend this outpouring of taxpayer cash into the pockets of global giants, after it was revealed that consultants were being paid £7,000 a-day to work on the UK’s

Test and Trace system. #Sky News revealed that #Boston Consulting Group was paid £40 million for 10 consultants to do four months’ work between the end of April and late August.

Asked about this spending, Cabinet Office Minister Michael #Gove said it was “absolutely vital that we have all the expertise required from the private and the public sector in order to improve testing.”
Indeed, the #UK’s testing regime has been mired in controversy

over its reliance on private sector talent. Until relatively recently, contract tracing fell predominantly under the jurisdiction of #Serco – a multinational firm run by the grandson of Winston Churchill, Rupert #Soames.

The corporate giant has been heavily criticised for reportedly failing to reach the required number of people in close contact with #Coronavirus. Two weeks ago, the Labour Party even hosted a House of Commons debate, calling #Serco to be ditched entirely, due to non performance.

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Additionally, the Government has allocated a budget of £13.8 billion for the procurement of personal protective equipment ( #PPE) during the pandemic.

As chronicled by #BylineTimes, a good proportion of this spending has been channelled to firms with questionable records in the field of #PPE procurement. Contracts worth least £526.3 million have also been awarded to companies with ties to the #Conservative Party.

It appears as though the country us being run by corporate giants, unaccountable to the electorate.
We don’t remember this being on the ballot paper, in 2016, 2017 or 2019.