Reform plans major County Hall finance review

A proposal to review the finances of Lancashire County Council is being brought before a meeting of its cabinet this week.

The item, which is being brought by Reform UK’s council leader Stephen Atkinson as a matter of ‘urgent business’, will seek to gain cabinet's approval start the review into finance and procurement arrangements.

The proposal comes amid reports that the local authority is to be scrutinised by a team from Reform UK which has modelled itself on Elon Musk’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - launched in the US by the Trump administration.

According to the reports, Reform UK has said the work will be carried out free of charge. Kent County Council has been named as its first port of call.

Announcing  the Lancashire financial review proposal, Cllr Atkinson said: “As part of our election campaign, Reform UK were clear that we intended to open up the books of the county council to scrutiny to ensure taxpayers are getting good value for money.

“It is important that we continue to work collaboratively with our officers to look at the efficiencies that can be achieved and we are committed to doing this as the new cabinet in accordance with our responsibilities in relation to value for money.

“Since forming the council’s new political administration, we have been working closely with senior officers, building good relationships and meeting regularly as we start to shape our future priorities for communities across Lancashire.

“Working with officers we are confident we can deliver savings and have already started some preliminary analysis since taking control of the council a month ago.

“We have been clear that we will be focusing our policies on what is most important to residents so we can make a real difference.

“Ensuring we have a good understanding of the council’s spending through this review will have benefits for residents.”

The Reform UK team is said to be made up of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors and is planning to scrutinise local authorities where it is now the ruling party.

Reform says that the unit will use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to “identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions”.

Speaking in March, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told supporters: “We need a British form of DOGE, as Elon Musk has got in America. Let’s have a British DOGE.”

The advisory body, headed by Tesla boss Elon Musk until the end of May, was created by an executive order signed by President Trump and given a remit to slash federal government funding.