Government spending through its L-Cat ‘super panel’ has rocketed in the last 12 months, Legal Week has learned, as a clutch of UK firms begin to reap the rewards of Whitehall’s attempts to centralise its legal procurement.

Figures released to Legal Week by the Office for Government Commerce (OGC) show legal fees paid out more than doubled during the last financial year, with £13.3m being handed out to the 33-firm panel, up from £6.3m during the previous 12-month period.