The amount of money spent by the NHS on external management consultancy will be published next summer after the Department of Health gave in to pressure from MPs.

The DH said it would announce both its own spending and that of the NHS.

The move came after the Commons health committee called for the information to be provided annually.

Before the decision, NHS chief executive David Nicholson told the committee his department was attempting “not to micromanage what the NHS does”, so therefore did not collect data on NHS expenditure.

But in a formal response, the DH said it would provide the information for the current financial year, which will be published next summer. However, a breakdown of what services the money buys will take longer to produce.

It is also working on a code of conduct alongside the Management Consultancies Association. The code will set out how firms should relate with the NHS.

Three years ago the National Audit Office estimated that £600m was spent by the NHS on consultants. It also said the NHS had been responsible for a third of a steep rise in consultancy expenditure during the previous three years.

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