Council leaders have defended paying consultants £6.3m to help them save money - despite criticism that promised savings have yet to be made.

Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council agreed to bring in consultants Newton Europe in January 2022 as part of a drive to change how adult social care is provided.

Council leaders said that would save £55m over five years. But there has been criticism over the use of consultants and whether the authority is on track to make savings.

Norwich Evening News: Norfolk County Council's County Hall headquartersNorfolk County Council's County Hall headquarters (Image: Mike Page)

The county council previously acknowledged there had been a delay in getting the programme up and running, but that savings had since increased each month.

The authority said savings of £7.3m of savings had been achieved by last December and that officers were "confident" £10m would be saved in 2023/24 - the expected savings target.

Norwich Evening News: Alison Thomas, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for adult social careAlison Thomas, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for adult social care (Image: Archant)

Alison Thomas, the council's cabinet member for adult social services, said: "We are facing an unprecedented demand for social care in Norfolk and we had to take action to meet those challenges and ensure that we deliver value to Norfolk taxpayers and provide the services people need.

"Our work with Newton Europe is on track to deliver £10m of savings by the end of this financial year.

"These are not one-off savings either and we expect the changes to save us more than £18m each year going forward."

Norwich Evening News: Brian Watkins, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Norfolk County CouncilBrian Watkins, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Norfolk County Council (Image: Liberal Democrats)

But Brian Watkins, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group at County Hall, said: "We raised concerns early about the eye-watering sums being paid to consultants, and we continue to believe they should be used sparingly alongside empowering staff members and service users to deliver a cost-efficient transformation programme.

"The amount of savings achieved thus far is below what we expected - spending money on expensive consultants at a time when you are trying to save money because of government cuts is not cost-effective transformation."

The county council recently agreed to £42m of cuts and savings and a 4.99pc council tax rise, as part of the budget for the coming year.

That includes proposals which would mean disabled people would have to pay more for their care.