CITY officials are spending almost £7m of taxpayers’ money on consultants this year.

Figures released under the Freedom Of Information Act showed Liverpool Council will shell out £6,958,847 on outside agencies by the end of March, 2010.

The news provoked anger from opposition leaders, who accused the council of being a “chequebook government” while it was facing huge cuts.

The council recently announced it may have to shed 1,000 jobs over the next three years as it tries to plug a multi-million pound black hole, which city treasurer Robert Corbett said would require “imaginative solutions”.

The £6.9m figure is equivalent to half of what the council must save next year or the salaries of around 230 £30,000-a-year town hall staff.

It dwarfs the amount spent by neighbouring authorities like Wirral council, who spent £600,000 on consultants in the last year.

Finance bosses said the sum includes services like audits and surveyors, while even foster carers and foreign language interpreters are classed as “consultants”.

They said it represented “very good value”.

But opposition leaders accused the council of “extravagance”, while trade union Unison said it was concerned with the level of spending on public relations and consultants.

Opposition leader Cllr Joe Anderson said: “This is chequebook government at its worst.

“We are paying huge salaries plus bonuses to council officers, only to bring in consultants to support them.

“It is extravagance the city can ill-afford.”