The Big Four have collectively secured over £1.5bn in public contracts so far this year despite the UK government’s pledge to cut spending on external consultants to save taxpayers’ money.
An investigation by market intelligence platform Tussell found the government has awarded KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC over £1.5bn in contracts so far in 2026, more than the entirety of 2025, which stood at £1.04bn.
The data showed it was the second most successful calendar year for the Big Four since Tussell began recording in 2012, beaten only by contracting during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Leading the Big Four, Deloitte secured £650m across 108 contracts this year. The bulk of these wins focused on IT services, digital transformation, and data analytics. Home Office IT spending accounted for the majority of this new work, including a standout £200m contract for Home Office Digital’s Data Services and Analytics (DSA) unit.
KPMG and EY won the largest contract, worth £456m, awarded by the Cabinet Office, which covers training for civil servants over the next two years.
In terms of rankings, despite being the smallest compared to its competitors, KPMG took second place, winning over £413m in government contract work. EY was third, with an overall value of £260m booked so far this year. Despite being the largest, PwC often takes a proportionally smaller share of public sector work than its rivals. It ranked fourth with over £211m.
As the consultancy market tightens due to the influx of AI and private-sector pulling back on external spending due to an economic downturn, government work remains resilient for firms.
Tamzen Isacsson, chief executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), told City AM: “Consultants are playing a vital role in helping government improve public services for taxpayers, and their specialist expertise is in demand in areas such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, AI and organisational change.”
Civil service skills gap challenge
The increase in UK government spending comes after Labour pledged in 2024 to slash taxpayer spending on external consultants.
The government unveiled plans for greater procurement control in November 2024, rolling out a framework to save £1.2bn by 2026 by freezing non-essential consultancy hires and targeting a 50 per cent spend reduction in the years to follow.
However, the government’s biggest challenge is the civil service skills shortage, especially during digital transformation.
Emma Carroll, principal consultant at Source Global Research, told City AM: “Often, consultants are brought in to tackle the most complex projects where specific expertise is needed and where there is a lack of internal talent, and there are some prime examples of this at play at the moment, including cybersecurity, technology implementation (including AI), or data readiness work, where the government simply can’t risk falling behind.
“The defence sector has also been a critical area of focus for the UK government this year, and consulting support has been and will continue to be important here,” she added.
Source predicts the UK public sector consulting market will grow by around five per cent in 2026, versus around six per cent for the wider consulting market.
Isacsson added: “We recognise the fiscal pressures facing government and share its ambition to improve productivity and delivery across the public sector. Effective use of consultancy helps government do more with less, bringing in specialist expertise where it is needed, supporting innovation, and building capability inside the civil service for the future.”
The Cabinet Office was contacted for comment.