Management of the health crisis, reform of APL, organization of conferences, etc.

The Senate commission of inquiry on the use by the State of consulting firms denounces in its report published Thursday a "sprawling phenomenon".

“The use of consultants is now a reflex”, judge the senators after some four months of work, during which they notably auditioned the ministers Olivier Véran (Health) and Amélie de Montchalin (Public transformation).

In addition to relying on private firms to compensate for a lack of internal resources or to carry out "complex missions", the State also entrusts them with "management tasks".

An often expensive expertise, since “according to the elements transmitted by the ministries, the average cost of a day of (work of a) consultant amounts to 1,528 euros including tax for the period 2018-2020”.

So that in 2021, the consulting expenses of the ministries reached 893.9 million euros.

A circular without any “binding character”

A marked increase in the amount during Emmanuel Macron's five-year term: in 2018, it was limited to 379.1 million euros.

Admittedly, Prime Minister Jean Castex drew a circular in mid-January to regulate the use of “intellectual services”.

But it has no "binding nature", point out the senators, and the objective of reducing consulting expenses by 15% in 2022 is "unambitious".

Unconvinced by this “government announcement effect”, they nevertheless recognize that the State's consultancy expenditure remains much lower than that of the British or German administration.

Another nuance, the use of private practices “did not start under this five-year term”.

"Everyone keeps in mind the assumed call for consultants during the general review of public policies" initiated under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, notes the commission.

"A massive intervention by McKinsey on the vaccine campaign"

The fact remains that “consulting firms have intervened in most of the major reforms of the five-year term, thus strengthening their place in public decision-making”, deplores the report.

This is notably the case of McKinsey.

The government approached the cabinet both on the reform of the method of calculating personalized housing aid (for a total amount of 3.88 million euros) and in the context of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 (12, 33 million).

“The documents consulted by the commission of inquiry show a massive intervention by McKinsey on the vaccine campaign, for almost a year”, notes the commission.

Other firms have supported the State on important issues, such as Capgemini, which has helped develop the Barometer of the results of public action (3.12 million euros) or Semaphores, responsible for helping prefectures to secure the distribution of electoral propaganda (approximately 290,000 euros).

The public sector consultancy market is concentrated: “20 firms alone represent 55% of consultancy to ministries”.

During the health crisis, three players (McKinsey, Citwell and Accenture) absorbed three-quarters of state consulting spending, the report said.

"Which strengthens their weight in public decision-making"

And if the representatives of the cabinets defended themselves during the hearings from any political or decision-making role, the senators remain skeptical.

Consulting firms have in fact "the habit of" prioritizing "the scenarios proposed" to the administration which requests them, "which reinforces their weight in public decision-making".

The commission is also concerned about the “dependency” of the public authorities on certain actors and calls for “the transfer of skills from consulting firms to the administration” to be made “more effective.

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Among their 19 final proposals, the parliamentarians suggest publishing the list of state services and its operators in open data.

They are also in favor of a systematic review of consultancy services over 150,000 euros and the prohibition of free services for public authorities.

Another track: the systematic destruction, at the end of their mission, of the data entrusted to the firms.

Finally, the senators are counting on the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life, whose resources they wish to strengthen so that it can control compliance by the cabinets with their ethical obligations.

“The health crisis has highlighted the intervention of consultants in the conduct of public policies.

It was only the tip of the iceberg, ”slices the commission of inquiry.

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  • Coronavirus

  • Senate

  • Olivier Veran

  • Nicolas Sarkozy

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