what is the general tack being taken in anticipation of reduced public sector revenue - are consultancies typically preparing ps PIP/exit programmes or more ambitiously attempting a re-direction of ps resource into the private sector? how has this been communicated so far?I'm after genuine answers - please do not turn this inot a PA diatribe

I had a meeting with one of the most well connected senior figures in the consulting industry in the last weeks. It appears the collective view of Partners in the public sector practices is that public sector spend on consulting will tread water for a few months but then take off again as the massive restructuring and change programmes get underway. So I'm not sure the premise of your question - that public sector practices will need to shed lots of staff or transfer them to private sector practice areas - actually reflects what consulting firms are expecting to unfold over the rest of this year...Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

that's been a pretty standard philosophy over the past - ie any change to the public sector including reduction requires external assistance to deliver - I'm just wondering whether this time the scale of change and the imperative to deliver real savings fast will drive a different dynamic. I've certainly seen 'dead cert' partner/VP candidates who far exceeded their targets last year not getting promoted, indicating a reluctance to commit in the sector

Have just had another call with a Partner from a public sector practice and the reluctance to commit certainly makes sense in light of his comments. Essentially all their key contacts currently have a moratorium on consulting spend and where meetings are being scheduled they are taking place "off site" as being seen with consultants is not considered good form at present.The guessing game was restated as being trying to fathom out when the government will come to the realisation that savings programmes will not be delivered without the engagement of consulting firms. So September / October is being pencilled as the earliest time for a pick-up in activity - by which time of course some firms may have scaled back their capacity to serve any revival in demand...Personally I'd be inclined to take advantage of the circumstances to take a sabbatical, before things go haywire at some point later in the year / early 2011!Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

As someone who has worked in cost reduction projects in the public sector for the past five years – I can honestly say that consultants really reduce cost in less than 10% of cases. Any project I have ever worked on has been stymied by massive internal resistance to change from lazy civil servants, and political agendas that have more to do with personal egos than with what is best for taxpayers. There is absolutely no need for consultants to “help” the public sector to reduce cost. We are guilty through botched IT systems, “Voice of the customer” nonsense, and other such easy meal tickets for partners of profiting from much of the mess in the public sector. Hopefully this new government will hold the feet of senior civil servants to the fire and tell them to find the savings themselves without pay £1000+ a day for some ex-public school boy to teach them how to wipe their nose

Peter the Great - you are clearly not a fan of ex-public school boys. It is a bit of a ridiculous generalisation though.