The Labour government has come under fire for authorising a £161,000 consultancy contract to evaluate the popular, free Parkrun initiative, with critics branding the expenditure a 'staggering waste of public money'.
Contract Details and Political Backlash
According to reports, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) awarded a five-month contract worth £160,780 to the economics consultancy Frontier Economics Limited in October. The firm's brief is to provide an independent evaluation of Parkrun, the free, weekly 5km event held across the UK.
Nigel Huddleston, the shadow culture minister, lambasted the decision, telling the Telegraph: 'Spending £161,000 on consultants to 'evaluate' a free, volunteer-run event like parkrun seems to be a staggering waste of public money, especially at a time when grassroots sports organisations are facing funding cuts.' He argued that Parkrun's success is self-evident, stemming from its simple, community-led and low-cost model.
Contradiction with Labour's Pledge on Consultancy Spending
This move appears to contradict Labour's own election manifesto commitment to slash consultancy spending. The party had pledged to cut such expenditure in half, aiming to save £550 million in 2025 and £680 million in 2026.
However, data from Tussell indicates a 5% rise in consultancy spending in Labour's first year, reaching £1.29 billion. This increase occurred even as the total number of government contracts awarded fell.
Parkrun's Profile and Recent Controversies
Parkrun is a significant fixture in British community sport, with more than 11 million people registered. It describes itself as the 'biggest provider of free activity in the world', with volunteer-staffed runs every Saturday at 9am.
The organisation has not been without controversy. In 2024, it faced a row over its transgender participation policies, which allow biological men to self-identify as female. This led Parkrun to remove all gender, course, and age records from its website, stating the change followed a review into presenting data 'in a way that is not off-putting and doesn't imply that parkrun is a race'.
A spokesman for the DCMS defended the evaluation, stating: 'We are committed to getting more people active, helping to alleviate the burden on the NHS, and data and insights on what works has an important role to play here.'
