One of his vows since taking over office from Paul Waggott was to cut down on the amount of money spent on external consultants.

The Taxpayers' Alliance said Coun Malcolm's promise to cut costs was 'good news' for the borough.

Today the Gazette can reveal the council spent £1.2m on external consultants in the last year of Paul Waggott's tenure with the overall costs set to rise to £1.5m by the time all studies are completed.

Of the cash spent, £641,000 was funded by outside bodies.

Sunderland City Council was paid £1,000 for a 'soft cliff invertebrate study' which includes examining bees and beetles, while Durham Wildlife Services was commissioned for a £4,000 survey on water voles.

A gypsy and traveller study in the borough cost £11,900, advice for new 20mph zones topped £40,000, and two residents' parking schemes cost £20,000 – £10,000 of which came from Nexus.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act also reveal £38,500 was paid to consultancy firm Tribal Consultancy for its advice on seafront leisure ideas.

Some of the biggest bills were for the Trow Quarry coastal defence project.

Consultancy firm Royal Haskoning was paid £101,299, while Allied Exploration and Geotechnics received £33,321.

In his first interview since becoming leader, Coun Malcolm said: "This year's council tax rise was the lowest in 12 years but I think it can go lower. There will also be a reduction on money spent on external consultants."

His brother Ed Malcolm has been drafted into the cabinet with a remit to continue to drive down council tax increases.

He added: "As lead member with responsibility for resources, I am determined to make sure that we keep Council Tax as low as possible whie delivering quality, value-for-money services for our residents. This will involve looking at all areas of expenditure across the Council, including how we use external consultants."

"It is inevitable that we will need to draw on the specialist expertise offered by consultants from time to time, especially for major projects with short or fixed timescales.

"We have always asked ourselves if the appointment of consultants is absolutely necessary and will continue to do so in the future."

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Councils across the country waste millions on consultants to do jobs council officers should be doing themselves.

"South Tyneside council was no exception, splashing huge amounts of taxpayers' hard-earned money on consultancies.

"It's good news that the new council leader is going to cut back in order to reduce council tax. People's bills are far too high and have got to be brought down."