CASH-STRAPPED council chiefs in Worcester have come under fire for spending “massive” sums of money on outside consultants.

Worcester City Council has been forking out an average of £440 a DAY to hire each one, racking up a hefty bill.

Over the last year 11 external consultants were drafted in to come and advise in-house staff.

The bill works out at around £8,800 per month for each consultant, with some of them on contracts lasting more than half the year.

Only two months ago the city’s Labour leadership pledged to reduce the reliance on outside consultants to help save taxpayers’ money.

The spending includes people hired to advise the council on its new £10.5 million Perdiswell swimming pool and even a ‘transformation plan’ aimed at saving cash.

Consultants were also used to help run corporate finance, economic development and as a ‘head of contracts’, filling in for posts which had become vacant.

The findings have been revealed after a written question was tabled by Worcester’s Conservative group, from Tory Councillor Lucy Hodgson.

The figure of 11 consultants relates to the total number hired during the 2016/17 financial year, which ends tomorrow.

Labour Councillor Joy Squires, the city council’s deputy leader, said the council has needed “external help” as it prepares for big change ahead.

She said: “The budget and the medium term financial plan sets out, over a three-to-five-year period, plans to get the city council on the right track - to action £2.6 million of savings and more importantly, to transform the organisation.”

During a full council meeting she told councillors the authority will still need consultants, saying she “values the external analysis they bring to bear”.

But she added that the leadership will aim to be “cautious” on how many.

After the debate Councillor Marc Bayliss, Tory group leader, said: “This is an administration that says they are cutting consultants, but this shows they are spending massive amounts of money on it.”

In January we revealed how the bill for consultants and agency staff is costing taxpayers more than £600,000 a year at the city council.