Reform UK to carry out council 'efficiency review'

Nottinghamshire County Council is to conduct an 'efficiency review' in an attempt to find savings, the authority has said.

It has been commissioned by Reform UK which has controlled the council since the local elections last month.

Council leader Mick Barton said it is separate to the Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) team which Reform has said it will send into councils it runs, but added the two will work together.

"We're a new administration and we want to see where we are financially, so we think it's a good idea to have a full financial review," he said.

He added he could not yet say what sort of savings the review may identify but he does not expect any council staff to lose their jobs.

"It's got nothing to do with staff and I've already made that very clear to staff, they've got nothing to worry about at all," he said.

A report published on Friday stated the review will be carried out by elected councillors and a "multi-skilled team of officers" but will draw on "external expertise as appropriate".

Barton said he is "more than happy" for the Doge team to be a part of the review but insisted councillors will make any final decisions.

"If they find anything, it's going to come to me as leader and my team and we're going to look at it," he said.

The Doge team is being led by Zia Yusuf, who resigned as Reform UK Chairman last week before returning in the new role two days later.

There is currently no timetable for it to arrive in Nottinghamshire.

A party spokesperson said: "We have now assembled a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors who will visit and analyse every Reform UK-controlled council, including Nottinghamshire County Council.

"The taskforce will identify wasteful spending, increasing transparency and ensuring taxpayer money is spent solely on activity that benefits local people."

Conservative group leader Sam Smith said work to improve efficiency was already taking place when he was the council's leader and he would not endorse a Doge-style audit.

"They're not local to where they're investigating and they're unelected. I'm not in favour of that," he said.

"It sounds like Reform in Nottinghamshire have maybe disagreed with their central office and said we'll do it from a councillor perspective."

Barton, however, denied there was any rift with the national party.

"We're not at odds or anything, I work very closely with my party and I've got a very good relationship, hence why we're doing it our way in Nottinghamshire," he said.

Labour group leader Penny Gowland, meanwhile, said the plan was a waste of staff time.

"Everyone wants to save money, but there is no magic pot waiting to be cut. In fact, after more than a decade of Tory chaos in Downing Street, councils are crying out for more funding," she said.

"The problem is not that councils are wasting money but that they don't have enough money to do things properly."

The report states the review will take place over the summer and will inform the budget setting process for next year and future years.

It is due to be discussed at a meeting of the council's cabinet on 23 June.

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