Letter: Useful advisers

As someone who has provided unpaid consultancy advice to the current Scottish Government and previous Lib-Lab Executive I should be grateful if you would allow me to reflect publicly on the criticism made by Bill Butler MSP on the use of paid consultants by the Scottish Futures Trust (your report, 22 December).

There is an unfortunate tendency for all seeking to justify political point scoring to look on paid consultancy to the government as a parasite on the public sector.

Consultants can and do save both the private and public sector substantial funds and can and do act as an enabler of many worthwhile initiatives.

Unfortunately, there are some consultancies which have proved to be self-serving and a disastrous drain on our nation's wealth. One need only refer to David Craig's enlightening book, Plundering the Public Sector, which shone a very piercing light on the billions of pounds spent uselessly by New Labour on consultants for which there has been no public benefit, a huge legacy of public debt and, to my knowledge, no legal redress.

One might have more respect for Mr Butler's comments if he were to compare the Futures Trust with what his party did in government instead of hiding behind a convenient and cynical, political forgetfulness.

Graeme McCormick

Conveyancing Direct

The Salmond Chambers

Morrison Street

Glasgow