Latest news with #councilspending
The Guardian
3 days ago
- 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
6 days ago
- 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.
