The right business has an annual budget of £2,800,000,000 per year.

In 2003-4 it expanded by 46% and, since then, by 33% every two years.

It gets paid bonuses for telling the rest of us to tighten our belts. And even bigger bonuses for increasing our workloads. And it helps itself to large slices of funding for government contracts.

Other people are held accountable for its mistakes. And even after its most spectacular cock-ups it can look forward to newer, bigger, more lucrative contracts.

What is this wonderful, lucrative gravy train? Who are these “heroes of the age” (as Private Eye calls them?

Consultants.