Latest news with #councilspending
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reform council agrees plan to share data with savings unit
A Reform UK-controlled council in England is the first to approve a proposal to share sensitive financial information with the party's cost-cutting Northamptonshire Council is exploring options to share data requested by Reform UK's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).Doge has asked the council to provide records of spending on IT systems, social care services and hotels housing asylum team of unelected volunteers - led by former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf - is aiming to enter into similar data-sharing agreements with all the councils controlled by the party. The BBC has been told Doge has submitted requests to access sensitive information to other councils, including those in Kent and far, Doge has focused on drawing attention to publicly available information about council spending, such as money spent on net-zero initiatives and asylum party insists it needs access to council records that are not public to make sure taxpayers are getting value for money."It's not a very well kept secret at council level that a lot of money is wasted on procurement," a party source opposition councillors have questioned the need for a team of outside auditors and have expressed concerns about how sensitive data would be handled by Harris, the Liberal Democrat group leader on West Northamptonshire Council, said he was sceptical of Doge's claims and argued it should be up to elected councillors to identify opportunities for saving money."They've said they're going to get fantastic data engineers in and use AI," Harris said. "That appears to be all smoke and mirrors."Harris said he had "lots of uncomfortable concerns about it because it's a PR exercise"."It's a promotional tool for Reform," he added. The council has not shared any data with Doge so the council said arrangements signed off by the cabinet on Wednesday establish "the framework under which information may possibly be shared in the future, including strict legal protections and confidentiality safeguards".Mark Arnull, the Reform UK leader of the council, said the proposed data-sharing arrangement would comply with the said: "I am confident the team will be able to support the council in identifying further efficiencies and potential future savings whilst continuing to protect and deliver services for residents across West Northamptonshire."The council said that since its creation in 2021, it had already saved around £115m by working more the finances of this council and others across the country are under massive strain, with many facing budget shortfalls because of rising costs and increasing demand for services. Doge was launched in June this year after Reform UK took control of 10 local authorities in May's local UK said a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors would "visit and analyse" local authorities to find "waste and inefficiencies" in unit is made up of about 15 volunteers and is run by Yusuf, who quit as party chairman in June, before returning to Reform to head up Doge days party has not revealed the names of any of the volunteers working with Yusuf on is modelled on the cost-cutting department set up by US President Donald Trump and previously led by billionaire Elon in the US has been hampered by legal challenges to its efforts to access the personal financial data of UK said Kent County Council - which it controls - would be the first local authority to be audited by its Doge - effectively civil servants - at the council are deciding how to respond to Doge's request for information.A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesperson said: "Officers at KCC are working closely and positively with the new administration to ensure that they achieve their policy aims, whilst doing so within the appropriate legal and governance frameworks."This collaboration with our newly elected members will ensure that any decisions taken are lawful, reasonable and proportionate, and we will be heading towards key decisions in due course through the governance process."When asked if there had been resistance to Doge's requests for information, a Reform UK source "I don't think there's been pushback as such"."It's more being wary and making sure that everything is legal," the source said.
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Christchurch Mayor backs proposal for government-capped rates rises
Phil Mauger envisages a rates cap of around 5 percent. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is backing calls for the government to cap rates rises . Cabinet will consider options to control rate rises, including capping, later this year. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has complained of councils' wasteful spending, comparing local politicians to kids in a candy store. "Councils don't always do a great job of spending your money like you would spend it. There are wasteful projects - there is evidence of that," Willis told Morning Report on Monday. "We want councils focusing on the things people expect them to do, which is the rubbish, the roads, the pipes, the basics - and not all the fanciful projects." Mauger told RNZ he could not agree more. "Everyone campaigns 'ohh, we gotta stick to basics', right? And then the first thing some of us do is go away and not stick to basics," he said. "We need to be stronger around the council table to say what's basics. Now ... someone's basic might be someone else's must have ... but it's good to have rates caps. I feel it's good. I really do." Earlier this year, the Taxpayers' Union launched a campaign calling for rates to be capped at inflation levels. Mauger imagined a cap closer to 5 percent and said his council was "very close to what I'd call the rates cap". He conceded it would not be possible to cap rates at inflation. "If it's low as that we would struggle with that," Mauger said. "I think to get down to 2 percent, if the government put a rates cap at 2 percent on it, I think there's a lot of problems." Christchurch City Council had approved average rates increases of 6.4 percent, 9.9 percent and 6.6 percent this term, as a result average rates bills had climbed almost 25 percent in the city this triennium, while inflation had only risen about 8 percent during that time. Willis told Morning Report she expected push back from councils "because when you take candy away from kids in a candy store, they don't really like it. But at the same time, we are on the side of ratepayers". Asked if he was acting like a kid in a candy store, Mauger told RNZ: "No - when it's my own money, it is. But when you're spending other people's money, [rates caps] are good". "If we had money running out of our ears, you'd spend it on other stuff. We haven't got that at the moment," he said. He agreed with Willis that councils had engaged in wasteful spending, and when asked for an example he pointed to cycleway spending. "We've wasted money on how we have designed and built cycleways. Now I'm not against cycleways but we can build them one hell of a lot cheaper - a lot, lot cheaper," Mauger said. The council had budgeted $210.4 million for new cycleways, improvements, and cycleway and footpath renewals over the next decade in its long-term plan. However, that only accounted for 3.2 percent of its budgeted $6.5 billion in capital spending. With major projects, such as Christchurch's new stadium and new sports complex, almost complete, rates pressure would ease in the future. But Mauger said the council still needed to find other ways to cut its cloth. "What we've got to look at is our levels of service now," he said. "Everyone expects when they walk out the door, they expect the footpath to be half-good, they expect the gutter to be falling the right way, they expect the water to be not leaking out of the ground, the grass mowed and rubbish picked up - that's what they expect. "If we backed off and didn't mow the grass as often or didn't pick up the rubbish as often, that's how we could save some money. I can't say that's how you would, but that's how we can do it quicker and easier." Rates caps had been panned by Labour leader Chris Hipkins - who said it would make the problem worse not better - and Local Government New Zealand president and Selwyn District mayor Sam Broughton - who said capping rates could be "disastrous for communities". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Reform UK to pilot Doge-style scheme to examine council spending
Reform UK has told council officers they will face 'gross misconduct' if they obstruct an Elon Musk-style department of government efficiency unit to examine all council spending in areas they control. The party will pilot the Doge-style scheme in Kent county council, led by a team including the Brexit donor Arron Banks as well as cybersecurity entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried. The move has been criticised as 'political theatre' by senior local authority figures and opposition politicians. The Conservative peer and pollster Robert Hayward told Politico he had written to the Electoral Commission arguing that the Reform volunteers should be scrutinised under political donation rules as a donation in kind. Lord Hayward said: 'Without full disclosure, the risk is that any donation could be buying access or influence election results.' Announcing the new initiative, Reform said the team would start to go through all council expenditure, beginning with Kent county council, to identify wasteful spending in the manner of the unit set up by Musk under Donald Trump with the aim of cutting wasteful spending. It said it would use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to 'identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions'. It said all council officers should hand over all documents requested, including internal investigations or whistleblowing reports relevant to financial matters. It added: 'Should you resist this request, we are ready to pass a council motion to compel the same and will consider any obstruction of our councillors' duties to be gross misconduct. We trust this will not be required.' The instruction was signed by the council leader, Linden Kemkaran; the party chair, Zia Yusuf, and the Reform leader, Nigel Farage. Announcing the scheme, Yusuf said: 'For too long British taxpayers have watched their money vanish into a black hole. Their taxes keep going up, their bin collections keep getting less frequent, potholes remain unfixed, their local services keep getting cut. Reform won a historic victory on a mandate to change this. 'As promised, we have created a UK Doge to identify and cut wasteful spending of taxpayer money. Our team will use cutting-edge technology and deliver real value for voters.' Farage told GB News that all of those involved were doing it on a voluntary basis. He said: 'This is day one of Doge. The Doge team has gone into County Hall in Maidstone in Kent this very morning, a team of young tech entrepreneurs who are not being paid. They're doing it of their own free will, and we're going in to have a look at Kent, have a look at the contracts, to have a look at the expenditure. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'We hope that the Kent chief executive and the council will work with us because, of course, many of the decisions, decisions on spending, would have been political decisions. No, Doge is active, up and running as we speak.' Cllr John Merry, the deputy mayor of Salford who chairs the Key Cities group of 24 councils across the UK, said Doge was 'absolutely the last thing local authorities need right now'. He said: 'I hear daily from members facing mounting pressures across vital services like Send [special educational needs and disabilities], social care and homelessness. In this context, it is difficult to see how Reform's Doge initiative offers any meaningful solution. What councils need now is not inefficient cost-cutting at the margins, but a serious commitment to long-term funding reform – one that aligns grant allocation with local needs and supports a resilient foundation for economic growth.' Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said: 'If you're looking at Elon Musk's Doge and thinking that is how we want to have our bins collected and potholes filled – you might be learning the wrong lesson.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Man's outrage as multi-storey car park's lights left on despite closure
A man said it is 'outrageous' that lights at a seafront car park are left on despite its closure. Grafton car park on Worthing seafront was closed on May 16 after Worthing Borough Council reported 'falling concrete'. It said that it would be carrying out an 'urgent investigation' into the condition of the structure, which is more than 60 years old. John Hill, from Sompting, regularly drives past the car park and noticed the lights were still left switched on. The 74-year-old has raised concerns that it is wasting council money and says they should be switched off. Mr Hill said: 'It's like Blackpool illuminations. 'Every single light is burning. 'With all the cut backs the council is having to make at the minute, it's an absolute disgrace. 'They're on during the day and at night. 'It's outrageous. It must be costing thousands of pounds.' The council recently reassured the public that the connected shops and bowling alley are safe to stay open due to the structure of the building being unaffected. Worthing Borough Council has been approached for comment.
