Reform’s Doge team accused of having done little more than ‘photocalls’ since being set up
Reform UK’s Doge team has been accused of carrying out little more than “photo searches” at councils it promised to “save a lot of money” when it was set up four months ago.
The Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting team set up by Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has pledged to work with Reform-controlled councils across the UK following the party’s landslide victory in May’s local elections.
The party has promised councils that an unpaid team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors will “visit and analyze” their finances to “identify wasteful spending and recommend workable solutions”.
The Doge did not set specific targets but promised to reduce spending on reform, diversity and inclusion programmes.
But, Independent It found the body had visited just three of 12 councils since the May election, but those visits faced obstacles that prevented them from making much progress.
Of the 12 reform-controlled councils, only Kent, West Northamptonshire and Worcestershire hosted Mr Yusuf and his team for talks.
Reform UK insisted the Doge had spoken to more councils, but North Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Durham, Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire county councils have all been notified Independent They have not been visited yet.
In west Northamptonshire, the council said despite initial meetings there had been “no further discussion” as it was “waiting for the return of Due Diligence documents for Reform’s appointed representative”.
Its spokesman said work would not progress unless such checks were completed, adding: “In the meantime, the Council continues to progress its own plans to improve efficiency and deliver savings through transformation ahead of next year’s budget setting.”
Daniel Lister, Conservative group leader on West Northamptonshire Council, said the two visits had been “more or less just photo searches so far”.
“I’m not sure they’re going to do much and there’s no progress,” he said Independent. “Given that most of the information is publicly owned and available, their overall understanding of local government is quite poor.”
He added: “There’s a lack of naivety and understanding. I don’t think we’ll see much coming out of the Doge anywhere.”
Worcestershire County Council and Reform UK leader Jo Monk did not respond Independent’s Although questions have been raised about their work with the Doge, opposition councilors have made little progress since the unit’s first visit.
Councilor Matt Jenkins, Greens and Independent Alliance Group Leader at Worcestershire County Council, said: “From what I hear the Doge has done nothing at the county council because they are not allowed access to anything.
“The idea is that if you want access, make a Freedom of Information request like everyone else, they can’t have the extra information.”
Zia came to the district council with all these promises and then suddenly realized that they could not do even half of what they wanted to do.
Adam Kent, Conservative Group Leader at Worcestershire county council
Despite making little progress, the team’s one-hour meeting with two council officers cost the authority £144, according to a freedom of information request.
Conservative group leader Adam Kent added: “All information is confidential unless they can provide evidence of why they can legally access the information they have to comply with the rules.”
“The point is that Zia came to the district council with all these promises and then suddenly realized that they couldn’t even do half of the things they wanted to do.
“There is a complete lack of awareness of how capital expenditure is used and a stark recognition of the fact that many of these councils are working with outdated resources.
“They were chosen on the basis that they would save millions of pounds, only to be faced with the harsh reality that they would not be able to do so.”
Some councils, such as Kent’s Department for Local Government Efficiency (Dolge), have set up their own internal studies to identify savings, but these operate independently of Reform UK’s central body.
Although Mr Yusuf’s team visited Kent’s council, a spokesman for the authority confirmed that since June “all work on local government efficiency in Kent has been led and carried out by the DOLGE team in the Council Cabinet”.
He added that the administration would “seek support from the Doge as deemed necessary and appropriate” “based on governance, legal compliance and need”.
Antony Hook, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Kent County Council, said: “We haven’t really seen anything of value – it’s actually the broader picture of what the Reform administration is about. It’s about what headline we might get tomorrow rather than how we might change the content over time.”
“When they announced their first destination would be Kent, they arrived unannounced and had no idea how local government worked.
“They seemed to think they should have access to all the council’s information, like Elon Musk getting into the US government. But they were told they couldn’t have everything; we have legislation to protect personal data.”
“What they can have is what everyone else is entitled to under the Freedom of Information Act. There is talk of a legal settlement but it has never happened.”
“Since July the county council appears to be moving away from the Doge, they have spoken out on their own issues and appointed a cabinet member – but it doesn’t seem to be much different for the cabinet member on finance.”
Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran was approached. Independentbut did not respond. He recently said this Local Government Chronicle “Dolge is much easier than Doge” due to legalities, so they are “making great progress”.
Ms Kemkaran previously said the inner council team, led by councilor Matthew Moat, had identified potential savings of £40 million since they began work in July.
But the authority’s new head of adult social care, Diane Morton, hinted at an increase in residents’ council tax bills when she warned earlier this month that services in the borough were “down to the wire”.
A Reform UK Kent spokesman said the council had done a “fantastic job” of reducing its debt by £66m in five months, despite council documents showing it faced £27.9m of overspending beyond its £1.53bn budget in the new year.
Four Reform councilors were suspended on Monday after a video was leaked showing Ms Kemkaran telling council leaders to “suck it up” while questioning her.
One of the suspended councillors, Paul Thomas, was threatened by Ms Kemkaran to remain silent during the meeting after he questioned whether Reform had the “right” leader and cabinet.
