NHS spent £313m on management consultants

The NHS in England spent more than £300 million on management consultants in the last year, figures show.

The cost is almost the same as the amount spent on skin and lung cancer services combined.

The Government released the figures to show how much was spent on management consultants - as well as advice from architects, lawyers and surveyors - in the last year of the Labour government.

Overall, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities spent £313.9 million on consultancy services.

In the West Midlands, £29.38 million was spent on the services, while in the east of England the figure was £27.2 million.

London spent £114 million, the South East spent £22.5 million and the south central part of the country spent £23.3 million.