COUNCILS in north and mid Wales have spent almost £20m on external consultants over the last three years, new figures have revealed.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service shows the eight councils spent at least £18,133,621 on consultant fees between 2015 and 2018.

The total covers anyone taken in from an outside body to advise the authorities on various matters, but the figure has been branded as “alarming” during a time when all local authorities are cutting their cloth to meet dwindling block grants from central government.

Of the region’s eight local authorities, Anglesey spent the most despite being the smallest council of them all – having forked out £9.5m since 2015.

The council’s spend, which is more than the other seven authorities combined, has been largely blamed on substantial projects such as Wylfa Newydd – with the outlay set to be repaid by the developers.

A council spokesman said: “It’s important to highlight that the definition of ‘consultancy’ is very vague and the interpretation of what is considered as consultancy can vary significantly between authorities.

“There are a number of reasons for the use of consultants and since April 2017 we’ve monitored the expenditure on Consultants and Agency staff in more detail and report to the Executive quarterly, all of which is available publicly.

“It is important to note that the expenditure on some consultancy has been funded externally from grants or contributions.

“We’ve also had to spend a substantial amount due to the Wylfa Newydd and National Grid projects, all of which will be reimbursed through an agreement with the developers.”

The island’s MP, however, described the figures as “alarming” at a time when the residents are facing rising council tax bills on an annual basis.

“The county council is operating under strict financial constraints, therefore even more concerning that it is paying out massive sums to consultants and not undertaking work in-house, and it seems it is paying out more than all the other councils in north Wales put together,” said Albert Owen.

“This is not value for money and this practice should stop, the local council taxpayers deserve better”.

The second biggest spender was Powys, having outlaid £3.3m between 2015/16 and 2017/18.

According to the council, the spend was necessary to provide expertise on issues that the authority does not possess within its ranks.

A spokesman said: “Powys County Council uses external consultants for one off, ad hoc pieces of work where particular expertise or experience is required that the council does not have in-house.

“They can also be used if the council requires an independent evaluation or assessment to be made.

“Information about the use of consultants and a list of expenditure is published on the council’s website.”

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