Councils in Sussex have spent a staggering £43 million on consultants in the last two years - almost £55,000 a day.

The figure, released to The Argus under the Freedom of Information Act, comes at a time when local authorities are making budget cuts and residents are facing council tax hikes of three times the rate of inflation.

The cash is the equivalent value of 7,000 hip replacements, 139 intensive care beds or five school playing fields.

Some of the country's biggest consultancy firms, including KPMG, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers and Deloitte and Touche have been drafted in as outside advisers.

The industry has become so lucrative that some private consultancies are now focusing entirely on public sector contracts, which can attract fees of up to £2,000 per day.

But politicians last night expressed concerns about the spending and called for a review of the "consultancy culture" in local government.

The Argus asked every local authority in Sussex how much each department spent on outside consultants - those who were not salaried staff - in the last two financial years.

This did not include casual or employment agency temporary workers.

By far the biggest spender was West Sussex County Council, which has shelled out £23 million on professional help since 2003. East Sussex County Council has paid nearly £8 million in consultancy fees.

Consultancy works for the councils included payments to the Criminal Records Bureau for checks on staff who work with children as well as advisory fees for large projects such as road and school building.

They have also paid for specialist advice from architects, IT specialists, engineers, web designers and staff trainers.

Many councils have spent large sums for professional advice in altering public buildings to provide access to wheelchair users under disability discrimination laws.

Morwen Wilson, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group on West Sussex County Council, said she would be investigating the amount paid to consultants.

She said: "It's a significantly higher figure than I would have expected "If we need that much consultancy advice every year we would be better off employing our own experts full time.

"Are we really making savings in the long run?"

Council leader Henry Smith said the council had the highest figure because it is the largest authority, almost twice the size of East Sussex and with a budget of £1 billion.

He added: "We are working on bringing down the number of consultants we use to as low as possible but sometimes we can't avoid it for a number of reasons.

"For short-term projects it is sometimes more cost effective to take on a consultant rather than recruiting staff in-house.

"It is a modern-day reality in a time of severe pressure on our budget.

"It is also in part a response to the labour market. For example we have employed people with specialist IT skills and in the end we had to use consultants.

"We do not pay consultants simply as a matter of course.

"We look to bring in the best people for the job to carry it out in the most cost effective way, and at times that involves employing consultants."

The figures have been revealed amid growing unease about the council tax system which campaigners say unfairly penalises the elderly.

East Sussex County Council used more than 600 consultants on some 4,600 projects over two years.

Leader Peter Jones said the authority kept use of consultants to a minimum.

He told The Argus: "We only use them if it is cheaper than taking on another member of staff on a permanent basis.

"We do not operate in a consultancy culture at East Sussex."