I became a Private Eye subscriber earlier this year and it is clear that the state's inability to deliver without heavy dependence on private consultants is(/was) not a uniquely Conservative problem.
For a long time, and mostly in passing, I've heard things like "the Civil Service is not fit for purpose" and "cannot attract the people it needs", especially in the context of digital and cyber; if the Eye's reporting is anything to go by, it's no surprise: reliance on expensive external consultants, working at firms that do not have the same social investment or long-term economic interests as the state, appears to have denuded the Civil Service of much of its in-house capacity and expertise.
It's a unique magazine, full of information you almost certainly cannot find elsewhere (with the possible exception of a well-curated Substack feed, or easy access to the diminishing number of local news outlets across the country), and well worth the ~£2 per issue price tag.